


The Road to Home

by fivekrystalpetals



Series: All Roads Lead to...Oriande [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Acxa Lotor's most trusted general, Acxa and Keith's warrior bond, Allura (Voltron) Lives, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate ending Voltron Season 7 and Season 8, Black Paladin Keith (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Gen, Keith & Allura at constant loggerheads, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Minor Allura/Lance (Voltron), Past Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) Dies, Story from Keith's and sometimes Acxa's POV, Voltron Season 7 and 8 fix-it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22372942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fivekrystalpetals/pseuds/fivekrystalpetals
Summary: "That was three decaphoeebs ago. No one has seen you since your fight with Lotor."Keith couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's impossible," he gasped.Acxa turned to face him. "It's true."The long voyage back home to planet Earth from the point of view of the leader of Voltron, Keith and the ex-general of Lotor, Acxa and the unexpected turn of events that followed after Team Voltron's supposed vanishing act for three years.
Relationships: Acxa/Keith (Voltron), Allura & Keith (Voltron), Allura/Lance (Voltron), Ezor/Zethrid (Voltron), Keith & Black Lion (Voltron), Keith & Keith's Wolf (Voltron), Keith & Krolia (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith & The Blade of Marmora, Keith & Voltron Paladins
Series: All Roads Lead to...Oriande [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613290
Comments: 62
Kudos: 80





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> ****IMPORTANT****  
> I do not consent for my work be hosted by any third party site or app. This piece of fanfiction 'The Road to Home' (in the series 'All Roads Lead to...Oriande') has been posted ONLY in archiveofourown.org under the pseud fivekrystalpetals. 
> 
> Please note that this is for purely entertainment purposes, and NOT for any monetary gain. This means that you, as the reader, DO NOT have to pay to read this fanfic. 
> 
> Also, this work is strictly my intellectual property. If you find this fanfic on any other app or site or under any other name, in part or in whole, it has been reposted without my permission, so kindly bring it to my notice. Thank you.

I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this piece of fiction, except for a few that I have created as per the story's requirements. Otherwise, all the characters belong to Voltron Legendary Defender and/or Dreamworks (WEP).

The story that I have written here is to be taken purely as an alternate universe ending as far as Season 7 and 8 are concerned. The overall storyline will be based on the canon episodes from these two seasons. However, there would be some major changes as mentioned below. Please make sure to read these disclaimers before proceeding. 

**Shiro is not incarnated in the clone's body:** Sorry, Shiro fans but this is a big fat no. Shiro died heroically in the attempt to defeat Zarkon. It is only a disrespect to bring him back in such a way as to force his essence into the very clone body which he himself considers as being "evil". So, if you have watched the show only for the sake of Shiro, then I am sorry you might not find this story interesting enough.

**Allura doesn't die in the end:** Allura deserves all the happiness the world has to offer. The poor girl has been fighting tooth and nail to defend the universe. And then, finally when she is this close to getting reunited with the colony of her people, she has to sacrifice herself to save them and everyone else. That doesn't sit right with me. So, yes, a happy ending for Allura. 

**Lotor gets his redemption, Honerva doesn't:** Okay, this is something I have lost my sleep over. I can accept that Honerva melted the statues at Oriande and created her robeasts out of them. I can even accept that she is able to rip into realities with her super mecha. But, no one person can be this powerful that they go about destroying all universes, destroying all realities and destroying the space-time itself, or whatever. Plus, she is equally vicious as the alchemist Honerva "who studied the rift on Daibazaal" or as the space witch Haggar. So no amount of past memories or "good still left within her" (because she has none) is going to stop her from doing more evil things. But, I can't say the same for Lotor. He _did_ try to do something good for the planet he was put in charge of. So, let's see how this angle turns out to be. 

**Lance and Allura/ Lotor and Allura:** Allura got her heart torn to pieces after the true colors of Lotor were revealed. For good or bad, I believe that she truly fell in love with him and the feelings were pretty much mutual. After Lotor had seemingly died and been left in the Quintessence field, (remember how she (and Keith too, for that matter) kept saying that it was not right to just leave him like that in there), I think she would take a long time to move on and trust someone the way she trusted and loved Lotor. So, for now, she would try to focus her mind and energy on her mission rather than getting distracted by another love. But, Lance would be fiercely protective of her and see to it that she doesn't get hurt once again. So, maybe a slowly falling in love and happily ever after with Lance at the end?

**Keith and Acxa:** Honestly, I came to this show after seeing all the posts about Keith and Lance and believing they are a canon couple. After _actually_ watching this show, I have now become a die-hard Keith x Acxa shipper and there is no going back from this. Their dynamics are simply awesome, and that too without even speaking a single word to each other. I still can't get over the fact that Acxa's first spoken words to Keith were "Synthian Nitrate", lol. True warrior buddies here!

Apart from the shipping angle, I am a big fan of Acxa as a standalone character as well. Her classic words "For Narti!" and kicking Lotor's butt with her stun gun still remains one of my most watched scenes from VLD. I was severely disappointed at how she just disappeared from the show in Season 8. 

Most of the chapters will be from Keith's POV. But in order to explore Acxa's character arc more, I will try to write from her POV as well. Being the mysterious Weblum Galra (that even now she is), I will be adding some parts which would be totally different from what is presented in the show. 

Also, there might be hundreds of rewrites for Voltron Season 7 and 8, on AO3 or other platforms. It is not possible for me to read all the rewrites, but I have tried to make this story as original and different from others as possible. So, the plot and the writing is strictly my intellectual property, except for the ideas that I took from the canon episodes of VLD and the corresponding dialogues. If the style or presentation of the series is similar to any other fic you find under the tags for Voltron: Legendary Defender, it is purely coincidental.

For now, this is all. If you are okay with all the above points and continue to read my story, I will be really happier than I can express. And if you like what you are reading, do let me know in the comments. I really treasure all my readers' opinions. 

Anyways, this is me signing off. Happy reading!!


	2. Prologue

Keith had no idea why his future visions decided to drop him right in the middle of a carnival. He hated noisy places, and there was no way that the future him would go there as well. He looked around him, but he couldn’t recognize the place or the people. As usual, in the stalls, some of the Unilu traders were bargaining with their customers, no familiar faces.

Everyone was bustling hurriedly past him. At first, he tried to move out of their way but then, he remembered he was not _actually_ present there. He slowly trudged forward, trying to figure out the significance of this place.

He spotted a small group standing near a shooting stall, in the familiar Blade of Marmora uniforms. He stepped closer to have a good look at who they were. _Lotor’s generals?!_ The huge general who he feared might knock him out with one blow, the one with the tail or braid or whatever that was on her head and then, that uselessly gorgeous general. _They join the Blades? Wow! How does Kolivan put up with them?_

They had a large wolf with them, which looked eerily similar to his own wolf buddy, except it was three times larger and with a huge glowing mane. A little girl of about four was sitting on top of the wolf. She waved her plump hands at the giant stuffed lions on display and made the most adorable pleading faces. “Mom, please, I want that one...the Black one. As a gift for Dad? Won’t you? For Dad? Please...?”

Keith froze on the spot when he realized who the little girl’s mom was. She had her mother’s Galran indigo colored eyes, pointy ears and tiny stumps in her hair which he guessed would grow out into that horn thing on her mom’s head. However, her skin tone was similar to humans’ and her coal black hair was tied up like a fountain on the top of her head. He fought the urge to brush away the locks of hair that had escaped from the tie and fallen into her eyes.

A million questions flooded into his mind, giving him a massive brain freeze. _So wait...wait, does this mean she married a human guy? How did she go to Earth? Could it be an Altean? No, Coran is the last Altean man alive. Then, is this another reality? How far into the future is this? What is her name again? And where am I? Most importantly, why am I seeing this as my future?!_

Keith studied her. She wore the Blade senior leader uniform, the one Ulaz donned when he had been aboard the Castle of Lions. Even though Keith had never known her name, he always felt some sort of an unspoken connection to her. Right from the time he saved her from the belly of the Weblum. If she was beautiful now, in the future she was even more so—more mature and womanly. Above all, she was smiling. He had never seen her smile. Well, true that there had been no occasion for that, but he had always wondered how she would look if she actually smiled instead of forever throwing one of her dagger looks in his direction from fifty feet far.

The big general placed the toddler on her back and put her short legs on either side of her neck. For winning the toy, her mom had to shoot down all the targets. Keith didn’t need a flash from the future to tell him that she would win at the game. _That girl never misses her shot._ The scene ended with the group cheering for her as she got ready to aim her toy pistol.

And, he was back in their makeshift cave, his wolf curled around his ankles. He found himself fondly smiling at the memory. He was not quite sure why he had had a glimpse of this particular scene, but he felt happy. At least, she had gotten out okay from the war and found love and a caring family in the future.

Presently, Krolia entered, carrying a bunch of logs for tonight’s cooking and campfire, a sideways smile playing on her lips. “Hmm...? What is it?”

She shrugged and tossed down the wood. “You know those girls?”

“Um, no, not personally. But they are, or rather, used to be Lotor’s generals. The last time I saw them, they were with that witch Haggar at the Kral Zera. Other than that, nothing. Not even their names.”

His mom chuckled softly. “You seem disappointed on not knowing their names.”

“What?” Keith sat up, blinking in confusion. _Is she teasing me? Why?_ “No, not like that. I am just...wondering why I am seeing them, considering this is a future vision.”

Krolia pursed her lips in one of her typical mom-knows-all looks. “Yeah, wonder why?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not necessarily a prologue to the series...just a story I had in my mind for some time that I didn't know where to put in. Inspired by Season 5 Episode 5, where Keith has a late recognition of his mom inspite of her looking exactly like an older and taller version of himself, except purple in color.


	3. Little Memories

For the hundredth time, Keith placed his palm on the healing pod in which Shiro was being kept in. There were no signs of improvement in his condition and Allura also had kind of given up on him. “Only time will tell if the body accepts Shiro’s consciousness or not.”

Nearby, Pidge and Hunk were discussing with Coran, something or the other about how to charge the lions from fauna–whatever element it was. Keith wished they would just shut up for some time. He had not had a quiet moment ever since the clone escaped with Lotor. The series of events that ensued were the most devastating experiences of his life, second only to the Quantum Abyss, of course. Despite the fact the abyss had already shown him that their fight was inevitable, he was not prepared. He was not sure which scenario was worse—Shiro ruthlessly trying to kill him or Shiro’s spirit speaking to him in the Black Lion’s consciousness and informing him that he had been dead ever since the battle with Zarkon.

Keith still couldn’t come to terms with whatever had happened over the past few days. _This has to be a really long nightmare; a really really long nightmare. Now, how do I wake up from this?_ Unfortunately, deep in his mind he knew whatever was happening, was happening and there was no going back.

The rest of the team decided to leave to scout the planet for the stuff they were discussing about. Keith was fine by that. Allura stayed back, saying she might be able to help Shiro with the knowledge she had gained from the mystical land of Oriande. His mom was gently patting his shoulder. She had seen enough people dying—her friends, her colleagues, her loved ones—that she understood perfectly how he felt. From her face, he realized even she didn’t harbor much hope that Shiro would survive.

He recalled all their beautiful memories from the past. The day Shiro had visited their school for recruiting the kids, his first day at the Garrison, their race on the hover‐cycles, the day Shiro left for the Kerberos Mission. Keith wanted to hate him for going on that fateful mission. Admiral Sanda had said no. Iverson had said no. Even Adam had said no.

Keith sighed heavily. _What is the use of thinking about all that now?_ The faint beeping from the pod was getting weaker.

His eyes had already started to fill up. “Allura, you can do something, right? Please? There must be something you could do. Some way we can help him?”

The Princess shook her head sadly. “I am sorry, Keith. I have done what I can. But...it seems the clone’s body is rejecting his—Oh no! What’s happening?”

The beep sank to a long hum indicating...

He banged the glass of the pod in his desperation. “No, no...Shiro, no, please. Fight! I know you can make it. You can’t do this to me again. Please!” He banged again, and again, finally breaking down into inconsolable sobs. His mom wrapped her arms around him, trying to pull him into a hug. But he felt too numb for anything.

He could hear the muffled voices of the Paladins in a corner. _They must have returned from their mission._ He was supposed to be their leader; however in that moment, he was not even embarrassed to be bawling his heart out in front of them. Everyone was trying to console him, but the buzzing in his ears drowned out all of them. Finally, he passed out of exhaustion in Krolia’s arms.

Keith was not sure for how long he was out. When he squinted open his eyes, he found himself lying in his mother’s lap, her claws gently ruffling his hair. In the bright glare of the planet’s sun, he spotted Romelle, Hunk and Pidge standing in Yellow’s shade, excitedly discussing something. _Probably, something math._ He knew they were all very keen on getting back to Earth. However, he had no more connection left to that planet. Now that Shiro was gone.

He looked at his mom, hoping to hear something in the lines of— _Keith! While you were sleeping, Allura was able to do her magical stuff and bring back Shiro._ But, she closed her eyes in mute sorrow. _No such luck, then._

“Oh, Keith!” Lance and Coran walked up to where he was sitting. “You are up. How are you feeling?”

 _Good question—how am I feeling? Dead inside?_ “Yeah, I will be fine. What’s going on?”

“Well, many things are going on.” Coran tugged at his moustache in comic contemplation, one of the many eccentric habits of the old Altean. “While you were sleeping, Pidge sent a message to Earth but we have gotten no reply. Lance was planning on who would fly in each lion. And, I was calculating how long it would take for us to reach the planet.”

Hunk and the two girls had walked over to them as well. “So? How long does it take to reach Earth?”

Coran glanced down at his fingers, three folded and two not. “Yeah, so without the luxury of a wormhole and with the dimished power cores, it is going to take approximately 150,000 Earth years.”

Keith felt his soul dash out of his body. _What the actual—?_ “A hundred and fifty thousand years!?”

“Coran?” Pidge cleared her throat as if she were embarrassed to be the one to be pointing out his mistake. “I think your finger counting is a little off. It’s gonna be 1.5 years.”

“Oh, right,” he chuckled sheepishly. “I didn’t carry the three.”

Allura sighed in obvious resignation over his mischief. “It is going to be a long and difficult voyage, but it’s our only chance of replacing the castle of lions. So, now, the only question that remains: when do we commence our journey?”

Everyone turned to look at Keith. He wasn’t sure whether it was a— _Leader, what should we do?—_ kind of look or perhaps, like— _If you are done crying, can we start?_

He drew a deep breath and rose to his feet. He always ended up losing whatever he held precious to his heart. For better or worse, he had become quite used to it. So, for now, he was not going to wallow in his misery. Shiro had believed in him. Even if he was not there with him, he must be somewhere in the universe, watching him, expecting him to do what was right. Keith wanted to make him proud. “Once we decide who flies with whom, we can start on our journey.”

Trusting Lance to have decided on the ‘who flies with whom’ plan turned out to be the worst idea ever. His plan was more like— _Hey, I am flying with Romelle and I don’t care about whatever the rest of you do._ Keith made a mental note to keep an eye on Lance and see to it that he didn’t try anything weird with the naïve Romelle.

Finally, they came to a unanimous agreement (except for Allura) on the passengers in each Lion: Krolia, Keith, and his wolf in the Black Lion, Lance and Romelle in the Red Lion, Pidge and the mice in the Green Lion, Allura and the cow in the Blue Lion, Hunk and Coran in the Yellow lion.

Together, they soared into the sky, ready for what might be the longest voyage of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, you might think that the other paladins did not even mourn over Shiro's death. That is not true. They already came to terms with the fact that Shiro was gone, the first time. The whole "Put Shiro's consciousness into the clone's body" was more like a trial and error experiment from their point of view, something Allura may or may not succeed at. Unfortunately, she didn't. But Keith never accepted Shiro's death the first time and desperately wanted him to be alive. In Haggar's own words: "The Red Paladin's connection runs deeper to you...deeper than the others." So, his deep sorrow is to be expected.


	4. The Way Forward

“Hailing the Blade of Marmora Headquarters, this is Acxa. Does anyone copy?”

Static, followed by a beep as the message was received by the base. The screen flashed white and then, the familiar face of Vrek appeared on the screen. Acxa sighed in relief.

“Acxa, any new leads?” Vrek’s bored voice crackled over the comm.

“It is more than that. I believe Voltron has returned.”

Her statement had the expected effect upon the Blades. There was a collective murmur and shuffling in the background as the rest of them moved closer to listen to her news properly. Syra leaned into the screen. “We are listening, Acxa. Could you elaborate?”

Acxa forwarded the voice message she had picked up from the Green Paladin. “This message has been sent to planet Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy by Katie Holt, Paladin of the Green Lion. I have not yet verified the authenticity of the message or got the visual confirmation.”

Vrek raised one hand for attention, the other already clicking various buttons on the console. “Already on it. Running the voice authentication subroutine now.”

“And what about the coordinates of Voltron’s sightings?”

She referred to her system. “They were in the Dalterian Belt if the message source is correct.”

She heard Ilun’s muffled voice behind Syra. She nodded thoughtfully. _Ilun must have made a good point._ “Ilun is right. Although the post has been long abandoned now, Zailox Station in the Klii‐Nyn Quadrant is the nearest Blade of Marmora base from Dalterian Belt. If Krolia is with them, then they would surely make a stop at the base. I suppose you can intercept them there.”

“Authentication complete. The message is indeed sent by Katie Holt.”

Acxa started to get up from her station. “Right then, I am heading to the Zailox Base now.”

“Acxa, maybe you can pick up any nearby Coalition members before going to the base.”

She shook her head. “I will manage. I will contact if I need backup.”

The screen went blank. She picked up her blade and checked her reflection in it. A warm feeling of hope filled her heart. _Finally, after decaphoeebs of waiting, I am going to meet him_ — _the one person who has changed my life forever._

Acxa quickly realized she had failed to meet up with the Paladins at the Zailox Station as per her plan. They had already departed from there. She picked up on the Lions’ signals and decided to go to the probable coordinates they would be at, rather than following them around in a futile manner. _They would shoot me down seeing that I am flying a Galra ship._ She wondered if she should have taken Syra’s advice after all, and brought someone from the Coalition along with her. The Paladins would still be remembering her as Lotor’s general. _I have my blade now. I might at least be able to convince the Red Paladin._

It was only recently she had come to know his name. Keith. _Whatever that meant in the Earth languages._

She decided to focus on her mission rather than getting distracted. Suddenly, a familiar cruiser arrived at the scene, floating lazily before her fighter, waiting for someone or something. _Zethrid and Ezor? Wow, they are fast._

Just then, the Lions of Voltron flew majestically out of a cave opening, and right into the tractor beam from the cruiser.

Acxa let out a defeated breath. _So much for the Return of Voltron._

Her former colleagues were not really high on security. Acxa was able to easily blend her ship with the rest of the Galra fighters and slip inside the cruiser. She had expected the Lions to fight or try to escape from the tractor beam, but strangely, there was no resistance from them. _What is wrong?_

She hid behind one of the large containers in the cargo bay and watched as the Paladins and the other passengers in the Lions were taken captive one by one and dragged away. No one had noticed her yet. And, this meant she only had little time to come up with a plan to rescue them. Choosing a blind spot where only one pirate was on patrol, she pulled up her arm computer. Although the signal was quite weak, she managed to hack into the cameras. Zethrid and Ezor, in their full pirate costume, were entering one of the prisoner cells. _Oh, they are already interrogating the Paladins?_

She pulled up the feed of the Lions lying around lifelessly in the bay. _If I could somehow cause a distraction in here, it would surely get Zethrid and Ezor out of that cell. Acxa, think...! What do we do? Wait. There is an ion cannon in the bay? That should work. If I could blast a hole in the hangar door with it, the lions will get sucked out into space plus the other hangar doors will go on automatic shut down. And that would mean I buy myself enough time to sneak into the cells._

Keith decided he should win the award for the worst leader ever. Not only did his entire team land up in a cell aboard a Galra cruiser, which was currently under the control of Lotor’s former cronies, he could do nothing but stand around and watch as they held up little Pidge to the wall. Whatever answers they gave didn’t seem to satisfy the two of them. Almost like they wanted to torture Pidge just for the fun of it. Worst of all, he was ashamed of himself. For the first thought that came to his mind on seeing the two of them was— _H_ _uh, where is the one from the Weblum?_

He had opened his mouth to try and reason with them again, when the alarms started blaring. A computerized female voice spoke, “Hull breach in Hangar one. Lockdown sequence initiated.” The two generals looked at each other, threw Pidge down and hurried out, followed by their guards.

As soon as the metal door closed again, Krolia rushed to it. “This is it. Let’s somehow get this door open and overwhelm the guard.”

All of them gathered on either side of the door. Keith studied the metal hinges. “So, how do we do that? Allura, do you think you will be able to lift the door?”

“Okay, let me try.”

As it turned out, their efforts were unnecessary. As soon as the Princess kept her hand on the door, they heard a groan and a thud; and, it opened up by itself. No one was outside, except for the fallen body of the patrol guard. Surprised, Keith stepped out of the cell. Before he could comprehend what exactly was happening, a long sword pressed against his throat. Instinctively, he brought his handcuffed wrists into a defensive lock against it. When he raised his eyes to his attacker’s face, he got the answer to the question in his mind. _His Weblum partner._

She looked different from the last time he had seen her. Her hair had grown longer; the horns on her head were also bigger. Her indigo eyes darted sharply over his shoulder as though counting the number of people in the cell. Keith had no idea what was going on. The other two were commanding a pirate fleet now, whereas she... _Why does everything look like it has, all of a sudden, aged three years? Am I missing something?_

He glanced down at the blade at his throat. _A Marmoran blade?_ Presently, she brought down her knife to his wrists and slashed open the handcuffs.

Coran pushed his way to the front. “Wait, aren’t you another one of Lotor’s generals?”

“Acxa.”

Keith released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. _Acxa?_ The defiant manner in which she had pronounced her name sent a shiver through him. _Keith, focus!_ “So, all this while, you were a Marmoran agent embedded in Lotor’s ranks?”

Nearby, his mom shook her head in disbelief. “No way! This blade, I–I recognize it...it belongs to Sulan. How do _you_ have his blade?”

Acxa looked down at her blade. As Keith had imagined, it shrank down from its awakened state in her hands. She flipped it around to hand it over to him. “Hmm?”

“I know I need to do a lot of explaining, but right now, we don’t have time for all that. Free your friends and get your helmets and weapons. They are kept in the third hall, in the next corridor. Your lions are now floating outside the cruiser, so you need to make haste. I will hold off Zethrid and Ezor till you make your escape.”

“Wait, what about you?”

But, she was already gone.

Keith crouched down on one side of the door. Acxa had been right about the location of their weapons. “Our Bayards.”

Lance and the others knelt on the other side. “They have weapons, and we don’t,” he whispered. “Any suggestions?”

The guard inside the room was swinging the Black Bayard to and fro, maybe in the hopes of switching it on. Keith closed his eyes and concentrated on it. Almost instantly, he felt the Bayard teleporting into his hands in the form of his usual sword. He got up and charged in. By the time the two pirates turned around, he had already knocked them out cold.

“Lance, lead the way.” He picked up his helmet and started to leave the room. The others were still busy collecting their belongings. “Keep the team together.”

Lance was obviously confused. “Wait, where are you going?”

Acxa’s words kept ringing in his mind. _I will hold off Zethrid and Ezor till you make your escape._ She was not planning to escape. She was going to sacrifice herself to save them, _to save him._ There was no way he could allow that to happen. “Acxa saved our skin. I am not going to leave her behind. I will meet up with you guys soon.”

Acxa remembered her former best friend’s final words on the day she had decided to leave them for good. “Acxa, the next time we meet, I’m not gonna stop myself. I will knock your face in, and I mean it. Remember that before you leave.” _I can't worry about all that, now. I need to make sure they don’t get to him till he escapes._

Zethrid and Ezor stopped short on seeing her waiting for them. “Acxa, what are you doing here?”

Ezor rolled her eyes tauntingly. “I should have known she would show up once we got the Paladins. She has always been sweet on the one with the flippity hair.”

Acxa got ready for what might be the last fight of her life. Against a skilled warrior like Ezor and a super strong Zethrid, she knew she alone stood no chance. But, she was not going to go down without a fight. For a while, she wondered if she was actually winning. The couple didn’t have good fighting coordination between them. Ezor was too fast; while Zethrid was as slow as she was strong. She tripped one and dodged the other. When Ezor tried to strangle her, she picked her up and flung her on her partner, knocking down both of them.

But, she knew that this was not going to last long. _Not long, just long enough for the Lions to escape._ Zethrid and Ezor were getting the knack of fighting as a team, while she was only becoming more tired. They landed blow after blow on her so that she had no time to recover. For Ezor, this was the price of her betrayal; for Zethrid, she was just happy to be thrashing something. As Ezor built up the momentum for her final strike, she felt relieved. _At least, I did something right for the first time in my life._

She braced herself for the impact...when, out of nowhere, a wisp of red passed in front of her eyes and pushed off Ezor just before she could kick her in her face with the prosthetic leg.

Torturing Pidge had made his blood boil, but seeing the way the tailed girl was about to hit Acxa, he could hold it in no longer. Keith pulled up his shield and wedged himself between the two of them.

The girl landed perfectly beside her big friend. “Oh, look Acxa. It’s your favorite Paladin.”

“So, do you guys actually know each other?”

The tailed girl _(Ezor was her name?)_ sneered, “Yeah, do you remember how she never wanted to kill him?”

“Aww, I guess it is true love.”

He knew this must be their tactic to distract them, but he couldn’t help but feel curious about the underlying meaning in their statements. _We can think about that later, Keith. Right now, rescuing Acxa is a priority._

He grunted and pushed himself forward. “Can we just fight?”

In their last fight at the Ullipa system, Keith had spent half the time being distracted. He had just found out that the soldier he met in the Weblum was a girl, one of Lotor’s top generals and looked absolutely stunning unlike the other Galra. When Ezor broke them apart, he had stood gawking in the live battlefield and would have had his face sliced in, had it not been for Lance.

He guessed it _had_ something to do with Acxa being around. Even when Ezor pressed his own sword against his throat, his eyes were searching for what was happening to her. Although she was remarkably good at holding off on her own against Zethrid, a strong punch sent her crashing against the metallic door. Immediately, a surge of energy coursed through him at the sound of the sickening crash. _I need to protect her!_

With all the force he could muster, he pushed Ezor against the wall opposite to them. As she sank down to the floor with a loud groan, her friend came bounding from the other direction and sent him and Acxa hurtling through the door. He managed to move in front of her, just in time, to protect her from getting injured.

Their crash had sent some sort of canisters rolling around in the room. _Is this the cruiser’s munitions storeroom?_ He got a sudden idea from those. Judging from the way Acxa was looking at them, he guessed she too must have come to the same conclusion. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Synthian Nitrate.”

Keith called out to his team mates. “Guys, zero in upon my location. Fire on the ship.”

Allura’s uncertain voice came through the comm, at once. “Are you sure?”

“Just do it!”

He marveled at how good Acxa’s heart was. Even after they had almost smashed her face, she used her arm whip to drag Ezor into Zethrid as they escaped. He supposed the big general would be able to protect her little friend from the fire that was about to break out.

And then, everything exploded.

As Keith used his jet pack to maneuver his way to the Black Lion, he felt thrilled. _My first Galran friend, I have got her back on my side._


	5. A Detour, Part - I

Lotor’s words from their final battle with the Paladins of Voltron kept coming back to her. _I am going to wipe the universe clean of all my enemies. Voltron, Haggar and the rest of the Galra._ And, the conversation from before, when the Altean princess accused him of killing countless Alteans. _How many innocent lives did you destroy? How many?!_

Acxa sighed heavily. She recalled the colony of the Alteans, and how peacefully the people were living there. She had expected Lotor to deny the Princess’ accusations. But he didn’t. _Allura, it is true. Many Alteans have perished in my quest to unlock the mysteries of Quintessence. But I rescued thousands more, and I rescued their culture, our culture..._

The only one time Lotor had taken Acxa to the colony had been a mistake on his part that he did not foresee. But, the ever calculating man that he was, he turned around this error in his favor. _Acxa, look, this is the world we are going to build. The people of Altea whom the great king Alfor had not been able to protect, who had been hunted down for centuries by my father Zarkon, have all been given a second chance to live peacefully. And, I promise I will protect you and the other half-breeds like you, like us in fact, just the way I have protected these Altean people all this while. Together, we will bring peace to the Galra and to the entire universe._

When the legendary Voltron reemerged with the Paladins from Earth, Lotor drilled into her mind that the new Paladins had been given the sole mission of hunting down the Galra so that the Altean princess could seize power. The first time a doubt about the credibility of Lotor’s words had crept into her mind was when the Red Paladin cracked open the glass cockpit of her fighter and took her hand to pull her out. He could have killed her as soon as he found out that she was Galra. But he didn’t. He worked alongside her and brought up his shield to protect her from the laser puke of the Weblum. And especially, what he said to the Yellow Paladin: _We are the Paladins of Voltron. We can’t just leave people to die even if they are Galra._

She sighed again. She had no idea what to believe anymore. But, one thing that she knew for sure was that because of all her misdeeds, the Red Paladin had to sacrifice his life for saving the universe from Lotor and his grand plans of world domination.

 _This is the least I could do for him_ , she said to herself as she maneuvered her ship through the chaotic environment of the Quantum Abyss.

The facility did not look any different from the one time she had visited it. She landed her ship behind a small hill, out of sight. _We are here. Now what?_ Acxa always hated it whenever she didn’t have a proper plan of action. _Okay, now, first let’s try and meet up with the leader. What was her name...Merla?_

Acxa was pleased that her idea of donning Lotor’s armor to the colony actually worked. The people welcomed her as soon as they recognized the colors and regarded her as the messenger of their Messiah. That was the reason she was immediately able to request an audience with the colony leader in private. 

There were three representatives for the entire colony: Merla, Tavo and Rian. In the matter of a few doboshes, they had gathered for a meeting in one of their dwellings.

“I remember you.” Merla started to speak as soon as the four of them settled in their seats. “You are one of Lotor’s generals. You accompanied him once. So, what is the news our Lord has sent through you?”

She studied the three Alteans. Merla was clearly the senior most among the three, and definitely the most loyal to Lotor. Tavo seemed like a guy who would be ready to entertain different views about a topic. Rian was probably the one who talked them through in case the two reached a stalemate.

Acxa took a deep breath. _This is going to be tough._ “So, before I move on to the news about Prince Lotor, I wish to solicit some information from the three of you. Have you ever received news about any of your people gone missing?”

Merla knitted her brows, considering her question. “Missing? No, I don’t think so. We take census of the people in this colony on a regular basis. Also, if someone finds that their family member is missing, they would surely report to me or Tavo.”

 _Then, what was the whole conversation between Lotor and the Princess about? The Altean people in this colony all seem to be fine...wait, this colony? “_ This colony? You mean to say there is another colony for your people?”

Tavo nodded his head. “Yes, there is a second colony that Prince Lotor built for increasing the chances of our survival. You didn’t know about it?”

“Prince Lotor must have failed to mention about this second colony to me. Anyways, the same question stands for that one too. Are any people missing from there?”

She sensed the hesitation among the three of them as they shot a quick glance at one another. “Honestly, we don’t know,” Merla answered finally. “It’s been phoeebs since Prince Lotor visited us. The last time he came here was a few movements after you accompanied him. And that was the last batch of our people taken there. We feared something might have happened to him the reason why he never visited us after that. We have been awaiting his arrival ever since.”

Acxa could hardly process what she was hearing. _Apart from this colony, there is another colony for these people where Lotor...kills them? That doesn’t make any sense. If he had wanted to kill them, he could have done it here. If that is the case, why to build a colony for them at all? No, I need more information._ “So, how does this second colony look like?”

Merla rose from her seat. “I am not sure if we should be revealing all this information to you. When Lotor particularly asked us to keep this a secret...plus, not to be rude, you _are_ Galra. We have answered your questions so far since you said you are with Prince Lotor. But, if this conversation is going to put the lives of my people in jeopardy, I think it would better to end this now.”

Acxa realized she had one chance before the conversation shut out completely. She decided to go with her wild guess. “None of you know the location of this colony nor know how it looks like. _Because_ none of you has ever visited it. Am I correct?”

They turned to stare at her in disbelief. _Yalmor’s eye._ Merla started to protest but, Tavo, as she had suspected, was the curious one. He put a hand on Merla’s arm and made her sit down. “What does all this have to do anything with Lotor? I thought you had come here to deliver some news about him.”

“Yes, and that news totally depends on what I am inquiring now. Contrary to what you say, the information you volunteer might save your lives and the lives of all the other people in this colony.”

Finally, after much hesitation and a lot of more diplomatic cajoling on her part, they agreed to reveal what information they had about the second colony. After they had told her the entire story, she fell silent.

_Wow, these people really have unquestioning devotion to Lotor. Hmm, anyways, onto forming inferences based on the facts. Lotor had been transporting batches of around fifty to hundred people to the new colony, every few decaphoeebs. Now, if what the Princess said was true, then he has killed them. But, killed them for what? Wait, wait, what was his reply? To unlock the mysteries of Quintessence...? Oh, dear Ancients...!_

Acxa couldn’t stop the train of her thoughts. The three Alteans were staring at her in confusion. She probably was making some weird faces. She put her face in her hands and rubbed her temples with her claws.

_So, would he have taken them to Haggar? Impossible, he detests her. Meaning he himself would have set up experiment labs of some sort. Oh, so this second colony must have been these secret labs. Again, these people have no way of getting out of this planet. So, then, why would Lotor risk transporting a large cargo ship through the Quantum Abyss and jeopardize his entire plan? No, the second colony has to be on this side of the Abyss. Maybe, a nearby planet?_

She looked up at her silent companions. “Do you know of any nearby planets?”

Rian shrugged as if he had been asked the same question many a times. “We have no way of knowing anything outside of our planet.”

 _Not surprised._ “Okay, does this planet have a moon?”

“Well, yes, there is a moon orbiting this planet.”

 _Well, that is our only lead._ “Fine, how about the four of us go and take a look at this moon?”

Merla started to protest again. “Lotor has especially asked us—”

“I know, I know,” Acxa broke in, impatiently. “Look, we will be flying in there in my ship...a _Galra_ ship. No one is going to suspect anything. If anything at all happens, I will see to it.”

Tavo must have been following her thought process to some extent for he asked, “You think the second Altean colony is on the moon?”

“I am not sure. But there is nothing wrong with checking it out. Oh, and by the way, please inform your people that they are to stay put until further orders from the three of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is full of Acxa's monologues, but bear with me for it gets interesting going further. Btw, if you are still wondering, this chapter takes place sometime after Voltron's battle with Lotor.


	6. A Detour, Part - II

“Wait, there is something down there,” said Rian, leaning over her shoulder.

Acxa had flown into the orbiting moon’s atmosphere along with her Altean companions. Through the windshield of her fighter ship, the three of them looked down at where Rian was pointing. The large building was distinctly Galran in design, but she was mildly surprised by the absence of any activity around. She set her ship down behind a large rock, some distance away, so to not attract any attention.

“We go in now?”

She managed a preoccupied nod. “Yes, but we need to be careful. We must not attract any unnecessary fire. Follow my lead.” 

Cautiously, she crept towards the building, the others in tow. The building appeared like it had been abandoned for decaphoeebs. She crouched beneath a nearby wall and pulled up her arm computer.

Rian knelt down beside her. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Scanning the place for biorhythms. I am not detecting any. There might be sentries inside, I am not sure. Come on.”

The four of them slowly edged their way to the main door. Acxa stopped to study the problem at the door. “Do you guys have any tools? I don’t think I can open the door by hacking into the system.”

“You mean, you require force to open it?” Merla stepped forward. “I guess I can help you out with that.”

Altean females must be way stronger than the males, for Merla had the door open in no time while the two men could just gape at what she did. Then, all of them stepped inside.

Whatever Acxa had been expecting didn’t prepare her for the gruesome sight that was in store for her. Rows and rows of large glass containers were stacked one upon the other and completely covered in dust. She was not sure what she was seeing, neither were the three Alteans.

“What–what is this place?” Tavo asked. “What are all these glass... _jars_?”

“Only one way to find out.” Rian cleaned the surface of the nearest one with his sleeve. And, almost immediately, he fell back with a shriek, his eyes bulging in horror. They gathered around to take a look at what had so shocked Rian.

The man inside the glass container was staring lifelessly at them. Long tubes were attached to him; sickly blue stripes running along the length of his body and his skin completely devoid of any color. The poor guy looked so frail and weak as though his very life source had been sucked out of him. _As though his very Quintessence had been sucked out of him. So, was this why Lotor conducted the tests on these people? To check who had the purest Quintessence...?_

“Gnautu...Gnautu?!” Rian gasped breathlessly. “What–why is he like... _this_?”

Acxa drew a shaky breath. All her suspicions had come true. The Princess was right, after all. Lotor turned out to be a monster, just like his father Zarkon. The Paladins of Voltron had sacrificed their lives to protect these people from Lotor’s hands. She had to warn them about the impending danger. Surely, she owed that much to the Red Paladin. “This is what I had feared. This is what I had come to warn you about. But, I didn’t want to make baseless accusations without proof. Now, that—”

Merla dug her nails into her palm. “This is the proof? But, but, what is happening? Why is he like this? He was supposed to go to the second colony. They said that getting selected for the second colony was the highest honor possible. If he is here, does that mean...the other people are here, too? My mother? My father?!”

She started to go about cleaning every container to search for her family. _If the leader is going to go into frenzy like this, what would happen when we reveal this news to the rest of the people?_ Rian was still staring horrified at the lifeless form of Gnautu. Tavo seemed to be the only one who was able to keep his emotions in check. “You are saying you had your suspicions about what was going on in this colony? How?”

She opened her mouth to explain when Merla retched hard and collapsed on the floor.

“Let’s get Merla out of here. We can discuss outside.”

For once, Acxa agreed with him. For, even, she could feel a hundred empty eyes staring at her as if asking her what they had done to deserve such a fate.

Merla was seated outside the building, her hands wrapped around herself. Tavo was gently patting her shoulder. Acxa felt sorry for the three of them to have found out that their people had been killed in such an appalling manner by the very man they all regarded as their Great Protector. But, this had to be done otherwise they would have never believed her words.

Rian clasped and unclasped his fingers. “You said there is more, right? Tell us, now. Let’s get over with all this quiznacking business, once and for all.”

“Yes, but before that, by any chance, have you ever heard of Voltron?”

At the mention of Voltron, Tavo glanced up at her. “Voltron? As in _the_ Voltron? The legendary defender of the Universe created by the mythical king Alfor of Altea?”

“Yes, now it has reemerged with new Paladins—”

He rose to his feet. “But, that is only a legend. I thought Voltron doesn’t _actually_ exist? The Lions of Voltron...and something like that?”

“Tavo, what are you talking about? What lions?”

Tavo had started to explain but Acxa cut in, “You may explain about the legend of Voltron to your people later. Right now, you need to listen to me carefully. The Paladins of Voltron had somehow found out about this colony, and the way Lotor had been enslaving your people for generations to harness their Quintessence. So, there was a battle between Lotor and the Paladins of Voltron.”

Merla stood up as well, now clearly interested. “How did they find out about this colony?”

“I know not. But, the more pressing matter is that both Lotor and Voltron disappeared after that final battle. There has been no news of the whereabouts of either of them, ever since. And worse, the location of your colony might have been compromised.” _Haggar had been spying on the Paladins through the clone of the Black Paladin. She would surely have heard all about this._

The news was obviously shocking enough to overwhelm them into silence. A tick later, Merla spoke up, “I think we should get back without any further delay.”

Back in the ship, Acxa continued, “The three of you need to convince your people to move somewhere else. I am not sure who all knows about this place now— the Galra warlords, Zarkon’s witch Haggar, the Druids? Whatever be the case, we need to get the people evacuated before any of them hunt you down.”

Merla drew a long breath. She still looked disoriented from what she had seen. “But where can we go?”

Tavo nodded in agreement. “Plus, another problem is we don’t have a ship large enough to transport all of us. You won’t be able to arrange a cargo ship that large to help us out, would you?”

“I am sorry, but I can’t.” Acxa drummed her fist on the console out of her frustration. “I, well, I am not a general anymore. I have cut off all my ties within the Galra Empire.”

The Alteans fell into a disappointed silence. They had arrived at the planet and would have flown right into a trap, had it not been for Rian, who pointed frantically to a large ship parked in the clearing. A long queue of people was moving rapidly towards it. A single gaunt figure, with the familiar red lines running down her face, stood by the ship.

“We were too late. Honerva is here.”


	7. Best Laid Plans

Acxa could have recognized her former employer anywhere. Honerva stood near the cargo ship in full olive gold armor, her pure white hair tied back into a horsetail and a red‐gold headgear completely exposing her face, which baffled her. As far as she could remember, Honerva had never ever taken the hood off her head. Except for the one time, when she revealed to Lotor that she was his mother.

The four of them hid behind a large boulder. Acxa could only hope Honerva had not seen them yet. The three Alteans were unarmed; all she had with her was her gun, which she knew was practically useless against the witch.

Rian peered at the ongoing scene from under his palms shading his eyes. “Okay, this is crazy. I specifically told all the people to stay inside till we return. Why are they boarding this Galra ship? And, who the quiznack is this lady, Honerva?”

Acxa had to internally roll her eyes. _They literally have no idea of whatever is going on in the outside world, do they?_ “Honerva, or as she calls herself High Priestess Haggar, is Prince Lotor’s mother.”

As she had expected, their faces underwent a wide range of emotion—surprise, shock, disbelief, and finally settled into rage.

Merla glared in Honerva’s direction. “Lotor’s mother? Why? Does she want to continue what her son started? To draw out the quinta–quinte–uh, whatever from the rest of our people as well? We need to stop her, right now!”

She started to get up and would have given away their hiding spot, had Tavo not pulled her down. “Merla, wait, don’t rush into things like that,” he muttered, smothering her protests. “This lady might have military forces to shoot down us or our people. We need to have a plan before we attack her.”

“Right. But, I am afraid military forces are much easier to take down than facing the powers Honerva possesses. She is adept in the realm of dark magic of some sort. I think _that_ is the reason why the people are obeying her command. Look at them; they seem to be walking in a slumber‐like state. They are probably being mind‐controlled by her.”

“So, what do we do?” Rian turned to her. “Acxa, please tell me you have a plan?”

Acxa couldn’t help but let a slight smirk play upon her lips. She was in her element just like before, when the others used to turn to her for the next course of action. “Yes, I do. Follow me.”

The four of them carefully made their way towards the cockpit of the cargo ship. After making sure they were well hidden, she opened her gauntlet monitor to try and pick up a signal strong enough to hack into the cockpit. _If I could somehow shut down the system, I can stop the ship from taking off._

All of a sudden, her ears pricked at a soft rustle behind her. Her battle instincts immediately taking over, she wheeled around, gun in hand, just in time to block a sword inches away from her face. She was dumbfounded. Four masked guys were crouching on the ground beside her. The largest among them had his long sword aimed to slice her face into two. _Who are they? How did they get so close unnoticed?_

It was then that she noticed they were wearing uniforms similar to the Red Paladin when he was at the Kral Zera. _Oh? So, he was with these people when he was not a Paladin for whatever reason?_ She decided to try her luck. “Are you with the Voltron Coalition?”

“And, you are with Lotor,” the large man replied brusquely. “Where are you taking these people?”

The woman on his left (for it was a female voice) grunted and added, “I remember her. She and the other two half-breeds were with that witch at the Kral Zera.”

Thankfully, Acxa had mentioned about her time working under Haggar to the Alteans. Otherwise, her observation would have broken the thin string of trust they had for her. She dropped her gun and raised her hands in a placating gesture. “Yes, that is true. But right now, I am not here for either Lotor or Haggar. I am here on my own to warn these people about the imminent danger. I suppose you have been sent here for the same mission?”

The man paused for a tick before lowering his sword from her throat. “Then, how do you explain the presence of Haggar here? She is loading the people onto the cargo ship.”

“I know not,” Acxa released her breath. “But for some of her own evil intentions, surely. We need to stop that ship from taking off. I am trying to hack into the system, but it would take me a few doboshes.”

After a few quick introductions, Acxa got to know that they belonged to a rebel group within the Galra Empire called the Blade of Marmora. Apparently, the Red Paladin, Keith was the one who discovered the second colony. The Blade Leader had sent this team consisting of the four of them—Sulan, Syra, Ilun and Vrek to inform the rest of the Alteans about whatever had happened.

“Romelle had always been distrusting of Lotor ever since her brother went to the second colony,” Merla remarked sadly. “Guess I was a fool not to have listened to her. I got angry with her for doubting him and told her off.”

Syra pushed back her hood. She had kind eyes that crinkled at the corners. “We are too late, anyways. Haggar is already here. How did she even learn about this place? Krolia sent intel about this colony and the Quintessence they discovered to Kolivan in high discretion.”

“That doesn’t matter, now.” Acxa watched as her computer downloaded intel from the cargo ship. _Thirty more ticks._ “Once I have finished hacking into the system, I will be able to shut down the system for around fifteen doboshes. If the five of us attack her simultaneously, we might be able to neutralize her. Haggar seems to have come here all by herself. Your blades resist her dark magic, I understand?”

The big man, Sulan nodded grudgingly. _Perhaps, he doesn’t like following orders from someone for his own mission. Plus, the fact that that someone is a half-breed adds insult to injury._

But, Acxa couldn’t care less. “Altean leaders, you focus on moving your people to safety.”

“Copy that.”

Just when she had thought everything was going according to plan, Ilun pointed in the direction of the cargo ship. “Uh, everyone? I think we have company.”

And, just like that, her plan failed magnificently. _Why didn’t I expect this?_ She and her comrades had ended up on an uninhabited planet, in a Galra prison and on a meteorite in the middle of a live battle, all because of her plans. This was nothing new.

Where Ilun was pointing, around six to seven figures in Galra armor were prowling around the ship. They were too lanky and unmilitary‐like for being Galra commanders. _T_ _hey look more like..._ “Oh, no! They are her druids.”

Ilun huffed, perhaps having guessed the same. “Why am I not even surprised? There would _always_ be something.”

“Okay, now what? We can’t take these many adversaries all on our own.”

“We don’t have a choice.” Sulan gritted his teeth. “We have to save the people before the witch gets off the planet. Acxa, how long before the power in the ship goes down?”

“Ten more ticks.”

“Fine. Let’s split up. Syra, Vrek, you take the four druids on the left. Ilun, Acxa, you take the three on the right. I will keep Haggar engaged. And, Merla, the window is short, so get the people out as quickly as you can.”

Acxa could feel in her bones that something was going to go terribly wrong. “Actually, there is no way we could take down the druids plus Haggar. And also, I am not in the favor of disclosing the identity of these three Alteans to the witch.”

Sulan threw up his hands in his exasperation. “ _You_ were the one who came up with the idea in the first place, and, now what? You are scared to go through with it!?”

“That was when I thought Haggar was all alone.” Acxa defiantly met his cold stare with one of her own. “My scanners had not picked up the presence of the druids. The five of us might be able to take down Haggar, but five against eight is impossible. Again, there is a chance that while we are fighting the druids, she mind‐controls these ones too.”

“You think we are weak!?” Merla hissed furiously. “And, what's your _master_ plan, now? To sit around and watch as she kidnaps my people?”

“No, I am stating the obvious outcome—”

“Sulan?” Syra cleared her throat which effectively quietened down their ill-timed arguments. “The ship...the power is down.”

The two of them shared a look of understanding. He picked up his sword and rose to his feet. “We have no other go. We need to take them down before power returns.” He turned to Merla. “If the fight is in our favor, come and help your people. Otherwise, just stay hidden.”

“No, just _stay_ hidden.” Acxa interrupted before Merla could make some new argument. “Merla, there is a high chance that none of us make it out alive after the fight with the witch and her druids. We need someone to tell the Coalition or the Blades about whatever happens here. That is what you need to do. If you want to see your people alive again, and so that our deaths don’t go in vain, please understand what I say and act accordingly.”

Merla opened her mouth to probably argue some more, but seeing Acxa’s face, she must have realized the high stakes. The three of them nodded meekly and got up to take cover.

“Victory or Death,” she murmured as they charged into the battleground.


	8. The Altean Exodus

Haggar’s druids were caught unawares. They were still checking the ship for malfunction. They hadn’t suspected yet, that someone might have forcefully shut it down. The Blades took this to their advantage. They hurled their swords from behind; two out of four found their target, evaporating the druids on the spot. _Two down, five more to go._

The battle went completely downhill after that.

The remaining druids disappeared and gathered around Honerva, who had the hangar door of her ship shut with all the Altean people inside. Her face contorted in anger as soon as she spotted Acxa. “You?! After what you have done, you dare face me again?”

Honerva blasted a column of her dark energy at her. Acxa rolled to one side, barely escaping the stinging heat. The druids rushed forward to attack the Blades, while she found herself fighting against the witch. She was seething in anger. Acxa realized too late that she was locked in a duel to death with her. “Lotor trusted you. He protected you. He made you his general even though you are a half-breed. And, you repay him with your treachery!? You are going to die, worthless girl! I am not going to stop until I slay you and the rest of your kind.”

She kept shooting wave after wave at her; Acxa managed to dodge almost every time. She didn’t have any weapons, except for her gun. But, even with a weapon, she doubted she could do any damage to the witch. Honerva was too powerful. She was fast tiring, whereas Honerva looked like she was not even trying.

Finally, a powerful blast hit her directly in her chest. She staggered and fell down to the ground. A bubble of darkness started to envelope her, suffocating her, feeding at her life force. _I am going to die today. Hope my body doesn’t rot in here. Will anyone perform the funeral rites for me?_

She could do nothing but helplessly watch as Honerva walked up to the ship. She overheard a distorted voice saying, “High Priestess Haggar, the ship has been successfully rebooted. Waiting for your command for takeoff.”

And then, she passed out.

When she regained her consciousness, the battle was all but over. The cargo ship was nowhere to be seen. Ilun lay on one side of the battlefield, presumably dead. Sulan had propped himself upon a nearby rock, bleeding heavily from multiple wounds. Syra and Vrek were missing as well.

Sulan weakly beckoned her over. “Acxa...I think you–you will be a great asset to the Blades. Will you join?”

Acxa was speechless. “Sulan, what exactly...?”

“Syra, she is...there; the druids are going to kill her.” He gestured to his right. It was then that Acxa noticed three druids standing over Syra’s motionless body, hefting a ball of purple energy to kill her. “I need to protect her. I will distract. You use my blade and destroy the druids from behind.”

He pressed his blade in her hands. Acxa studied it. _Did his sword shrink down to this small dagger? That is quite handy._ A faint blue light flickered in the symbol on the hilt, as if it was going to die out soon.

“Concentrate on connecting your life force to the blade. That is the only way you can awaken it.”

She looked up at him. “But, it belongs to you. Why are you giving it to me?”

As soon as the question left her lips, she found the answer in his eyes. He was going to sacrifice himself to save his team. “I have to do this,” he said slowly. “Otherwise, the druids will kill us all.”

Acxa wanted to protest, but in her heart, she knew what he said was right. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had no idea how she was supposed to connect her life force to the blade. All that was going through her mind was respect and admiration she felt for Keith, for Sulan, who didn’t think twice before giving up their lives to protect their mission and their team. _Would I ever be that brave? I suppose not._

All of a sudden, she felt the blade in her hands growing warmer. She opened her eyes to see a strange blue light, engulfing her hands and growing brighter with each passing tick. When it died down, the blade had transformed into a long double edged sword, slightly curved around one edge but surprisingly light for its length.

There was a sad but satisfied look in his eyes. “You have awoken the blade, Acxa. It is connected to your life force now. Use it well.”

Acxa sincerely wished she had not quarreled with him earlier. She wished she had known him before now. She could not believe that such honorable and good hearted people _do_ exist within the Galra. She found no right words to say, except a simple, “I will.”

He nodded briefly before rising to run right into the midst of the druids. The druids were taken aback, however, they quickly got over it. They turned around and thrust the ball of dark energy that they had been preparing for Syra at him. Acxa found it hard to watch the gruesome torture he had to endure. _I need to act right now!_ She steadied herself and aimed her blade at the nearest druid. She was not sure whether it was her good aim or pure luck that the blade found its mark perfectly. The druid burst into a cloud of sparks. This didn’t escape the attention of the other two. They started to build up another ball of darkness to shoot at her.

Just then, the fight ended. Just like that. Two blades flew in from opposite directions and struck the druids right in their heads. Before they could realize what had happened, they had got blown into dust. An eerie silence spread over the battlefield.

Syra couldn’t tear her eyes from the mangled body of Sulan. Acxa knelt down beside her and tried to tell her about whatever had happened. How he had given up his blade to her. How he had sacrificed his life to save the rest of the team. But she didn’t seem to register anything.

Ilun gently placed her hand on her shoulder. “We should give her some time alone.”

As Acxa walked away, she wondered if she had made yet another terrible mistake. _Why wasn’t I the one who made this sacrifice? I was the one who came here all alone. I could have died and let them be together. Why did I accept to join the Blade of Marmora? Why did I agree to awaken his blade?_

The voice that resonated in her mind answered all her questions. _You are a coward. You are selfish. You are afraid to die. That is the sole reason._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to improve on writing fight scenes...I tried my best but I still feel that the fight descriptions are a bit bland. *disappointed look*


	9. Crossroads

“So, you are telling me that Haggar has kidnapped all of the remaining Alteans in the colony?”

Everyone was shocked to hear it had been three years for the rest of the Universe, while they were stuck in some sort of a time bubble so that only a month had passed for them. Keith was hardly surprised. The journey through the Quantum Abyss had essentially been the same, just in reverse. _This is nothing new._

However, when Acxa was recounting her experiences for them, he nearly forgot to blink. According to her, she navigated through the Quantum Abyss to investigate about Lotor’s past, figured out about the second colony, convinced the Altean leaders to listen to her, fought Haggar herself and survived, joined the Blade of Marmora and killed a druid. _All on her own? Woah!_

And the only reason she gave was, “I knew I had to find my own path, and it led me to you.” _Her path...led her to me? What does that mean? Seriously, is that why she went through the Quantum Abyss?_

On the other hand, Keith realized that she had done what they as Voltron were supposed to do whereas they went MIA for three years. 

“How did Haggar control the minds of all the people in the colony?” Allura continued her train of questions. “Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you stop the cargo ship from taking off?”

Keith sighed in defeat. _Was she even listening?_ “Allura, I think Acxa just mentioned that one of the Blades _died_ , trying to do exactly that.”

Acxa nodded, her eyes darting from him to Allura. “We tried to stop the ship as best as we could. But, Haggar had rendered all the five of us fatally wounded with her dark magic. We were of no match to her. In the end, Sulan sacrificed his life to protect us against the druids.”

Keith felt like his head would burst due to the thousand questions that raced one past another. “Wait, how did that work? I mean, how did you awaken his blade? I thought one has to go through the Trials of Marmora to join the Blades.”

“I am not sure. Sulan had handed over the knife to me and asked me to connect with it. I started to think about-about uh, some...things. All of a sudden, the blade awakened to its full length in my hands.”

“This is not the proper way to join the Blade of Marmora,” Krolia spoke up. She had been silently standing by the cave door and studying Acxa the entire time. Keith felt uncomfortable. _Mom is a senior member of the Blades and a stickler for rules. Surely, she won’t force Acxa to undergo the Trials like, right now, would she?_ “But, yes, sometimes in life and death situations, the original wielder _can_ bequeath their blade to someone else. And, the Blade _can_ be awoken without going through the Trials. This method is rare and quite dangerous.”

“‘Bequeath the blade’? Like how you left your blade with Dad?”

“No, that is different.” He was amused to notice her eyes light up the way they usually did, when he asked her about the history of the Blades, the Galra culture or the time she had spent with his dad. _Mom-knows-all_ look, he had dubbed it. “My blade is for you. That is, I passed it on to my child. You still had to undergo the Trials to prove that you are worthy of wielding it. However, when a Marmoran agent realizes that they are not going to survive and that their mission is doomed, they could bequeath their blade to a capable and trustworthy Galra warrior if this might save the mission, as what had happened in Acxa’s scenario. I deeply regret his death, but I suppose Sulan must have realized that he wasn’t going to make it. It was a huge and calculated risk on his part to bequeath his blade to Acxa. It has paid off well from what I hear.”

Acxa smiled gratefully. His hopelessly pathetic heart finished two rounds of intergalactic marathon, went short of breath and died. “Thank you...ma’am?”

She glanced at him doubtfully. _What do you usually call her?_

He met her eyes with his answer. _I call her...Mom._

He could feel her mental eye roll. _Duh, Captain Obvious. What am I supposed to call her? Krolia? Ma’am? Leader? My lady?_

“You can call me Krolia.” His mom interrupted their silent conversation. For some reason, she gave Acxa one of her rare, motherly smiles that were meant to be exclusive for him. Also, he couldn’t understand why Hunk and Romelle were trying so hard to control their giggles. He put on his leader’s glare. _Hunk, Romelle, focus!_ But they ignored him, turned to each other and continued to giggle. _Wow, what is going on between these two?_

“Krolia, it is an honor to meet you in person. Ilun has told me a lot about you.” _Ilun has told her a lot? Did she tell her about my Kral Zera fiasco as well? Ah, Keith, no way. You are not that important to be brought up in a conversation._

However, Allura didn’t seem interested in any of their conversations. “So, Acxa, where has Haggar taken my people?”

“Unfortunately, I do not know. Vrek had managed to install a tracker on the ship while it was taking off. But, we could pick up no signals from the device at all.”

“Maybe, she became aware of the device and got rid of it,” Pidge suggested.

“Hmm, maybe?” Keith sensed an uncertainty in Acxa’s voice as if she was not telling them everything. He had opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong when she shut him up with a clear warning in her eyes. _Not here, not now. I will tell you later._

Allura stood up from her seat, a fierce determination in her posture which Keith knew all too well. “It doesn’t matter. We are going to take Voltron, slay the evil witch and free my people, _right now._ I don’t know what she might be planning to do to them. We need to stop her. The sooner we start, the better.”

Pidge raised her hands in a don’t‐harm‐me gesture. “Princess, I totally agree with you. But you do realize that we have no way of finding out where she is, right?”

“Then, let’s work on that. Coran—”

“Um, Princess,” Hunk cut in. Keith appreciated his guts, interrupting Allura when she was about to make her grand plans. “Also, you do realize the story that Acxa told us—”

“This is not a story. This is something that _did_ happen around twenty five phoeebs ago.”

Keith cringed in embarrassment. _Yet another point to jot down about Acxa: The facts presented before her must be absolutely accurate. Wait, when did I prepare a mental checklist about her likes and dislikes? Quiznack, this is even more embarrassing._

“Um, sorry...yeah, you are right. It isn’t a story,” poor Hunk continued sheepishly. “So-so, well, that was actually my point. All these events happened three years ago. Haggar would already have done whatever she wanted, right? The people would probably be dead by now. Oops, I'm sorry again but I am just stating the obvious facts.”

“Hunk, are you telling me that you are not ready to embark on this mission because you think it is futile? Fine, if that is the case, and if all of you agree with Hunk’s stand, I do not need any of you to join me. I am going on my own to find them.”

Everybody knew better than to confront Allura when she was one step away from going completely ballistic, except for Acxa. “Princess Allura? I do not think the Altean people are dead. If Haggar had wanted to kill them, she would have done so in the colony itself. She would not have transported them elsewhere. I suppose now that Voltron is back, we may expect an attack from her soon.”

“In other words, as soon as we leave this planet, you will sell us out to your mistress, am I right?”

Acxa was visibly shocked. “Do you mean Hon-uh, Haggar? I told you I am not working for her anymore.”

“Just because you say so, I am to believe you? One of Lotor’s generals?! I trusted Lotor; he used me and betrayed me. That is all what your kind is capable of— _backstabbing_. I am not going to repeat my mistake. Whatever happens, I do not trust _you_.”

Acxa fell silent. She didn’t even try to defend herself. Her beautiful indigo eyes danced in the firelight, reflecting a tired melancholy. Keith wondered sadly whether she had to go through this kind of treatment with the Blades and Coalition as well.

“Allura, knock it off. Look, we will save the Alteans. There is no doubt about that. What Pidge and Hunk are trying to say is that we should not rush into things with no knowledge of Haggar’s plans. Let’s prioritize, okay? We can’t go into a fight without our Lions at full strength, right? That means we need to continue our journey to Earth. Pidge, Commander Holt would have finished building a replica of the Castle of Lions based on Coran’s blueprint?”

“Hopefully, yes.” Pidge nodded uncertainly. “But, I have no idea what has happened to him or Matt. I haven’t been able to contact either of them. Acxa, have you ever contacted Matt Holt during the last three years?”

“Uh, what?” Acxa seemed to have been shaken out of her reverie. “Matt Holt? I met him once, around one and a half decaphoeebs ago. He was quite worried about you. We worked together for some time in our search of Voltron. After that, I received no further news about him. I am sorry.”

Allura gave her another pointed glare. “And, may I ask why you were searching for Voltron? Unless it is for Haggar, I do not see any reason for you to be searching for us.”

Keith could take it no longer. “Allura, I told you to knock it off. Acxa saved us from the pirates, didn’t she? If you cannot thank her, at least—”

“Keith, you do remember this was the very ploy that Lotor used upon us. He saved us at Naxzela, gained our trust, and then——”

She was cut short when Acxa abruptly got up from her seat. She turned to Keith, her face set in stone. “I think my presence is not required here any longer. I will be outside if you need me.”

Keith got down from the Black Lion, after making sure his mom and wolf were fast asleep. Everyone was resting in their respective lions so that they would be fresh tomorrow for the journey home. However, Keith couldn’t sleep. He wanted to talk to Acxa. He had tried to stand up for her, but she seemed pretty upset by whatever Allura said. He didn’t want to lose yet another friend.

Acxa was sitting on a rock outside, her cheek in her palm, her elbow propped up on her knee. With her blade in the other hand, she was drawing random figures in the sand.

“Didn’t sleep yet?”

She looked up. “Nor did you.”

“Yeah—well, actually,” _Why am I so jittery around her? To the extent, I can’t even form a proper sentence? Am I scared of her? Or, is it something else?_ “I-I need to talk to you. If you are not too busy...”

“No, I am fine.” She wiped her drawings with her foot. “What is it?”

He couldn’t help feeling a bit hurt at her cold tone. But, he couldn’t blame her. If he were treated the way Acxa had been, he too won’t be in the mood for a civil conversation with anyone. “Um, uh—did you contact Ilun and the other Blades?”

“Regarding your return? Yes, I informed them in the morning.”

Keith fumbled with another question to keep the conversation going. “How about the three Altean leaders? Are they safe?”

“Yes, they are good. They are working alongside the Blades to find a way to hunt down Honerva.”

He was confused. “Honerva...? You mean Haggar?”

She hesitated and continued to stare at the ground. She looked so lonely that his heart went out to her. “Are you okay? Allura can be pretty bitter at times. Don’t take it to heart. Just give her some time to accept you. You will find a good friend in her.” _Oh, really?_ He hoped his voice sounded more convinced than he felt.

Acxa sighed deeply. Keith caught himself staring at her skin glowing bronze in the eternal twilight of the planet. “Keith, I have so much to tell you. Frankly, the only reason I am helping out with the Blades and the Coalition is _you_. I do not trust any of the other paladins, including the Princess. The feeling is quite mutual. But you...” She held his gaze for a long moment, long enough for him to become flustered. “You give me hope that one day I might not have to be ashamed of my race anymore. If you are to lead me, I will follow you anywhere.”

He took a shaky breath. He searched her face for any signs that she might be kidding him. “Acxa, you don’t even know me properly. How can you trust me so much?”

She smiled at him and patted the ground near her, flustering him some more, but it didn’t exactly answer his question. 

“What do you plan to do now?”

Acxa hadn’t trusted the other Paladins enough to reveal her classified information. But, this was Keith. If she didn’t tell him, with whom else could she share the burden of her secrets?

After she finished, he was quiet for a long time, his rugged jaw set in thought. He had a calm maturity in him she couldn’t find in any of the other Paladins, including the Altean Princess. Or, perhaps she was just biased. She wondered if there would be a change in the course of their plans based on her input.

“No, the voyage to Earth must continue. We can’t reveal this info prematurely to the others, especially to Allura. She would insist on facing Honerva right away. In the weakened state of the Lions, I don’t think it is good idea. You are continuing your work with the Blades?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Okay, report back to me if and as soon as there are any new developments.”

She felt more at ease with him than any other moment in her life. There was something about him, about his voice that soothed her nerves. She wanted nothing more than to sit there and have a never ending conversation with him, but she knew it was impossible. _This is probably the last conversation I will ever have with him. Tomorrow, he leaves. And then, maybe the day would never come that I meet him again._

In the cool breeze that swirled around them, a hundred unspoken words could be heard.

“So, will you come with me?” Keith asked finally. “If you don’t want to come till Earth with me, maybe we can drop you off at some active Blade base.”

“But, I do not think I will be welcome aboard the Lions.”

“Not the other Lions. I am asking you to join me upon the Black Lion. Only Mom and my wolf are with me, so you will have plenty of room for yourself. I don’t want to leave you stranded here, now that your only ship is also lost. We are taking away all your supplies as well. Who knows when this Base will be active again?”

Acxa considered his invitation. _So, today wasn’t the last conversation with him after all?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to create unnecessary cliffhangers here, (I mean, whatever Acxa told Keith is pretty much easy to guess anyways). I just didn't want to dump everything in this chapter itself. On another note, I really enjoyed writing Keith and Acxa interactions. *heart eyes everywhere*


	10. Aboard the Black Lion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourself for second hand embarrassment... *no regrets, cue wicked laughter*

Inviting Acxa aboard the Black Lion proved to be one of the biggest blunders of his life. But it was not Acxa’s fault. Heck, no! She was the nicest travelling companion he could ever have got when compared to the others, especially a nonstop chatterbox Lance or an ever barfing Hunk. All Keith had to blame was himself and his stupid raging hormones.

He had promised Acxa that there would be plenty of room for her in the Lion’s cargo bay. As it turned out, there was no place except in the room Krolia and he were sharing. Two of the storage compartments were full of the supplies they had gathered for a yearlong journey. Another room had the pod in which the body of the clone was placed in. _More like his coffin._ It might have been an evil impostor. Nevertheless, it was where the spirit of the fallen hero of the Kereberos Mission finally rested in. Keith wanted to arrange a state funeral for his brother and honor him for all that he had done. Secretly, he still harbored a slight hope that Shiro might wake up in his new body any day. The chances were close to none, but still... 

Acxa had dealt with a whole bunch of awkward moments in her life. She had once exploded a ball of foul smelling gas right in Prince Lotor’s face when she tried to escape the detention center. Thankfully, he was more amused than offended by her act and from then on, took her under his wing. The list of her epic debacles could go on forever. But, nothing had prepared her for a total mess of a man that was Keith.

She refused to sleep in the same room as the coffin of the former Black Paladin, or rather his clone, was placed in. So, she had no other go but to share the cell with Keith, his mother and his wolf. She didn’t mind. But, Keith did. He was always on edge around her as though he was scared for his very life. _I thought that was all in the past; I thought we are on the same side. Apparently, he still believes that I will betray him and kill him in his sleep._ She couldn’t help feeling hurt. Perhaps, he did find some merit in Allura’s accusations and decide to be wary around her.

However, Krolia was not like that at all. She did not treat her as a fellow member of the Blade, but more like her own daughter. Acxa was really grateful for that. She even felt a little envious that Keith had such an awesome mother, while she had only bitter memories of her own. She didn’t linger on that emotion too much lest it poisoned their slowly building trust and friendship. _Whatever happened in the past stays in the past._

During the first movement of her stay aboard the Black Lion, she noticed that Krolia had a strange habit of taking their Cosmic Wolf on a walk just before the four of them retired to rest for the quintant. The wolf would always teleport to the end of the cargo bay which defeated the whole purpose of an evening walk. For a resourceful lady like Krolia, her habit seemed useless. And, Keith seemed so anxious about being alone in the room with her that he would desperately wait for his mother to return, sitting at the door like a cute puppy, forlorn and lost.

At the end of the movement, Acxa offered to get down at the nearest habitable planet for she was making him uncomfortable. For better or worse, her proposal backfired. Keith denied vehemently that what she said was not true and thereafter, tried his best to make her feel more at home by making short conversations which went something like this:

“You have _two_ horns?”

She was confused. “Um, yes?”

He frowned at her as though wondering why she was having two while she was supposed to have only one. _Perhaps, my head will be forever tilted to one side if that was the case._ She was about to assure him that she was not going to butt him with her horns when he spoke up. “Uh, nothing.”

“Oh.”

She sighed. Even with Narti, she had more articulate conversations.

Over the time, Keith started to lose his inhibitions and chatted with her more easily. They would huddle under one of the large containers like kids who had sneaked out to steal a candy. He told her random bits from his life—about his passion of flying, how Shiro was his mentor and friend in the flying school on Earth, how he had tracked down the Blue Lion on Earth. However, Acxa found it hard to talk about herself. Keith never pressed her for any details. He would immediately apologize in case they touched upon some sore subject from her life. She liked that about him.

After that particular incident, Keith didn’t talk to Acxa for straight three days till his mother knocked him on his skull and scolded him for being rude to her. _I am not being rude to her,_ he wanted to yell. _This is the height of the most embarrassing things I have ever done in my life._

So what happened was this. That day (or night?), Acxa was describing the various animals that roamed on the planet she grew up on. One of the planets in the Dalterian Belt; it was completely destroyed, thanks to Zarkon and Mrs. Zarkon. Keith was not sure why he dozed off while she was speaking. Maybe, he was really tired after the long day or her voice was so soothing to his ears. Whatever the case, he fell asleep on her shoulder and she made no efforts to wake him up.

When he woke up, he found himself drooling heavily on her clavicle, his nose buried in her neck. With a violent start, he jumped two feet away from her. He groggily blinked to register his surroundings. His mom was sleeping in one corner of the room. Then, there was his wolf. _Another embarrassing mess of a creature just like his master..._

His wolf had covered Acxa’s waist in a flood of drool.

Keith ventured a careful glance at her face. She was pulling her bangs into a blue curtain to hide her face. _Is she mad at me? Angry? Insulted? Does she hate me now?_

She whispered softly, “I am completely covered in wolf drool.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, he is—uh, uh, super drooly...?” He coughed lightly to clear his voice. _Why does my voice have to crack at a time like this?_

She tugged at her hair some more to hide the ghost of a smile across her lips. _She is laughing at me!_

He scrambled away as fast as he could to the farthest corner of the room and curled up into a tight ball of red-faced mortification.

The day after they restarted on their journey to Earth, Keith asked Acxa to inform the other Paladins and his mom about the information she had regarding Kolivan and the rest of the Blades. “Mom, you need to listen to this. It is about Kolivan. Guys, everyone! Please pay attention to what Acxa has to say. Go ahead, Acxa.”

“Kolivan is missing,” Acxa said. She sat down gingerly on one of the panels behind his pilot’s seat. “As are many of the Blades. The four of us have been trying to track them down, but we made no real progress.”

“Like how the Zailox outpost was abandoned?” Krolia mused. “But why? What happened to the Blades during the last three years?”

“After we escaped from the colony following Haggar’s...err, abduction of the Altean people, we got lost in the Quantum Abyss on our journey back. So, by the time we made it through, one decaphoeeb had passed for everyone else. Ilun tried to contact the headquarters about the mission but to no avail. The Blade of Marmora had evacuated, gone missing or perhaps, even worse.”

Everyone was silent for a beat, trying to process what they heard. A flicker of emotion passed across his mom’s face, but she quickly put back on her usual pokerface.

Pidge’s face appeared on the screen. “Aren’t there a lot of Marmoran agents like Krolia who are embedded in the ranks of various Galra commanders? Did you try to contact them?”

Acxa hesitated. “I am not in a position to elaborate on that. As far as I understand, the knowledge about the exact location and identities of the double agents within the Galra Empire is only in the possession of Kolivan and very few senior members of the Blade. Syra, Ilun or Vrek do not have that kind of high security information. So, with Kolivan missing, we couldn’t contact them.”

Krolia nodded slowly. “I can corroborate on what Acxa says. The Blade of Marmora has always been an organization which built its foundation on secrecy and trust among its members. The more people are aware of the identity of a Marmoran agent, the more danger their lives would be in.” She took a deep breath as though preparing herself for what she was about to say next. “But the fact that none of the double agents in the Empire have tried to contact the Main Base at least once in the last three decaphoeebs is deeply disturbing.”

Keith understood what his mom was trying to say. “You mean their identities might have been compromised?”

“Let’s hope that the first scenario that Kolivan has evacuated the Marmoran agents to another secret location is correct.”

“However, one more unexplainable incident had occurred during that period,” Acxa added thoughtfully. “We were able to track down a few of the major Galra factions once Ilun and Vrek got back to the Headquarters. It seems like...they have been completely wiped out. We are not quite sure what might have happened.”

“Wow, isn’t that like a good thing?” Lance asked. “If all the Galra have been wiped out, then it obviously means that no more war! Peace at last!”

The three Galra aboard the Black Lion looked at each other. “Hey, Lance? You surely understand that Galra warriors getting killed for no reason is entirely different from defeating Zarkon, right?”

Lance became quiet as soon as he realized the mistaken implication of his statement. Pidge chimed in quickly, probably trying to change the subject. “So, did they fight among themselves trying to seize power once they found out that Lotor was dead? Maybe, a battle broke out between the factions you mention and they killed one another in the attempt.”

Acxa looked at Keith. “Yes, perhaps you are right.” _I strongly believe this has something to do with Honerva._

His wolf was the daily food delivery boy for the Lions. So, it was today. Hunk, their usual cuisine specialist, prepared their breakfast, tied the delivery bag around the wolf’s neck and announced, “Food incoming!”

As they were eating, Hunk suggested coming up with a name for the wolf, to which Keith, of course, disagreed to. “Oh, come on! I vote Kosmo.”

Allura and Lance agreed unanimously. “I like Kosmo.” “Yeah, Kosmo is cool.” Even, Pidge! “Yeah, it’s nice.”

Keith had always believed that his cosmic wolf was smart enough to choose his own name. It was downright rude to force one onto him. He shook his head. “We are not calling him Kosmo.”

“Oh, come on, Keith, we gotta call him something.”

“I figure when he is ready, he will tell me his name.”

A collective groan went through his team. “Yeah, Keith, as if the wolf is gonna choose a name for itself and tell it out to you? Come on, dude.”

Acxa, who had been eating her breakfast quietly so far, frowned. “I think Keith might be right. He is a cosmic wolf, after all. These creatures are quite intelligent.”

Lance sighed in exasperation. “Look, spending so much time with Keith is really rubbing off on you, Acxa. I think you need a change of the lion. Red and I are ready to welcome you on board. You just need to—”

“Lance!” Keith felt his ears heat up. _What he said is not true, right?_ “Just don’t...do that.”

“Don’t do what? Why, getting all possessive over—”

“Ahem!” Acxa cleared her throat. _Is it my imagination or did her face turn a little purple?_ “What I was saying was that, uh...I mean, we had a special cat with us when I was serving under Lotor. His name was Kova—”

Keith zoned out at that. _Wow, the way she mouthed Kova...the way her lips pouted, they look so small and soft...I wonder how they would feel against_ — _WOAH! WOAH! What the actual quiznack am I thinking?! Seriously, what is wrong with you, Keith? She is a highly respected and intelligent warrior, not someone for you to crush on._ He gulped down hard and turned slightly for a quick glance at his mother. She had her usual brooding face. _She doesn’t know what I was thinking, does she?_

Acxa was finishing her observations about her cat. “—so, there is a high possibility that the wolf also might know its name and tell it to us, someday.”

“Acxa, I understood like 10 percent of what you said. So, till the wolf _tells_ its name, we will call him Kosmo.” He knew Lance well enough to know that he was being sarcastic, but Acxa was cutely confused. She turned to him like, _Hey, they are still calling your wolf Kosmo despite all my efforts._

“Okay, Paladins, I feel like some of you are becoming unfocused and _distracted_.” Krolia stood by the console, punching in some values. She glared at him at the _distracted_ part. He managed a nervous smile. “This long journey can’t let your skills become soft or dull. So, I have programmed a new battle simulation. I think it is going to be especially challenging.”

Hunk groaned. “Why do you seem happy about that?”

“Like mother, like son.”

Krolia was unamused. “So, here is the scenario: You are on a planet with double gravity, dense volcanic fog and eight blovar raptors are attacking. What do you do?”

The scene before them changed from the void space they were travelling through to a planet with the harsh conditions as his mom had described. Keith was instantly interested. “This is a good one.”

“Wait, wait, I didn’t pay attention. What is it, again?” Hunk babbled followed by a loud shriek and a thud which probably meant he had landed on his butt on the floor of his Lion. “What just happened?!”

“A blovar just melted your face off, Hunk! Now, it is eight on four.”

The rest of them tried to maneuver their way through the fog, shooting at the blovars and trying to find a way through. Keith shouted his orders. “Everyone, split up to thin their numbers! If there is some way we could...What!?” The latter because the alarms of the cockpit had started to blare.

Krolia frowned in disappointment as the scene before him changed back to the original. “Keith, you are out.”

Acxa got up to stand beside his mom. “I don’t know why, but this fictional planet reminded me of Thayserix.”

Keith traced his mind back to the incidents on Thayserix when they had gone to chase down Lotor. Blame it on his stubbornness; they got trapped in the dense fog that overrode all their sensors. Finally, Allura had guided them out. “Was that the first time the Paladins had formed Voltron with you flying the Black Lion?”

 _Oh, so, Thayserix was not a total disaster then._ “And, you were trying your best to kill me.”

Keith had to roll his eyes seeing her smug smile. And then, again, when his mom was happily gloating to the others that she had programmed the simulator to be unbeatable. _Why am I stuck with these Galra ladies, again?_


	11. The Ruins

“It’s been four phoeebs already. Are we getting any closer to Earth or are we just going around the Universe like on a carousel?”

Keith was supposed to be the leader of the Voltron and encourage the team to stay focused and not give up, but he had to agree with Allura. Four months had passed. They still had no idea if they were on the right path. Yes, except for Pidge’s word. “Princess, as far as my Lion’s star chart tells me, we are in the right direction. Well, more like we are heading in the right direction, for Earth is still so far away from us that I could only be that certain. Once we reach close enough, at least close enough to the Milky Way galaxy, I could pick up a more accurate way in.”

The screen switched from Pidge to Lance. “Guys, do you remember the first time we flew in Blue from Earth to Arus, we went via a wormhole? How we found Allura and Coran? That was the best day of my life. I mean, meeting Allura was the best day, I mean, not day but uh...”

A collective eye roll went among all the girls aboard the Lions. Keith had to smile. _Even Acxa and Romelle have become familiar with Lance and his flirting ways?_ “Oh yeah, so what I was saying is that perhaps Blue has some special wormholing abilities that...I don’t know, we may not have unlocked yet? Is that even possible?”

Coran pulled at his moustache. “Surprisingly, Lance makes a good point—”

“I know I am a genius that way.”

“Except it wasn’t the Blue lion that created the wormhole you came through. It was the Castle. When King Alfor sent away the Lions so many decaphooebs ago, he connected them to Allura’s life force and to the Castle so that when the time comes, when the Lions are retrieved by worthy Paladins, they would be guided back to Princess Allura.”

“In a nutshell, Blue can’t create wormholes, eh?”

Before Coran could answer, an excited Pidge cut in. “Guys, guys! You know the passive scan I had been running? Well, I just picked up a signal!”

Keith asked her to patch it through and soon, they were all listening to what appeared to be some sort of deep space humming. “Um, what is this?”

Pidge was also understandably confused. “Well, sorry, I thought it might be...but, this is only some interference. I will tune it out.”

“No, wait.” His mom stepped forward to the console. “Pidge, can you amplify this signal?”

“On it.”

The sinusoidal distortions overlapped to form a single strong sonic pulse to which Krolia closed her eyes to listen carefully.

“Judging from the intermittent sound structure, it’s just deep space interference.” Pidge continued. “Most likely a radiation pulse from a nearby star.”

Krolia shook her head. “No, that’s what it is supposed to sound like. Listen to the sound in between the pulses. There’s a unique pattern.”

Keith closed his eyes to listen to it and try to discern the pattern his mom was referring to. Presently, Krolia explained. “Before the Blades were unified, we would use this crude way of communicating with each other. Not many Blades know this code. It must be a senior member.”

He opened his eyes. “Kolivan?”

“Possibly. However, this is a distress signal. Whoever is sending it is in trouble.”

He studied the portion of the nearby galaxy Pidge had triangulated as the origin of the signal. “Do we know anything about this section of space?”

“Not without the Castle of Lion’s research library core,” Coran answered. “We would be flying in blind.”

He suspected the entire thing might be a trap set up by someone who knew about this signal and cloned the same. _But, what if it is actually Kolivan? Only one way to find out._ “Guys, I know this is pretty severe detour to Earth, but we need to check if it is really Kolivan or any of the Blades. Pidge, could you guide us in slowly?”

The signal was emanating from a deserted planet with all the evidences of a once prosperous civilization been wiped out completely. _Same as what Acxa described about the Galra factions. I am seeing a pattern here. Hopefully, we would get some crucial clues on this planet._

Pidge walked ahead of them with the detector in her hand. “I still can’t tell exactly where the signal originates. I’ll keep trying to triangulate its location.”

As they walked farther into the remnants of the city, Keith became more certain that a disaster had occurred here, natural or otherwise. Next to him, Acxa pulled up her arm computer to run some diagnostic tests on the fissures of the ruined buildings. “What has _happened_ here?”

Krolia brushed away the dust from some long cracks. “These strike patterns look Marmoran. I am not sure, but from the signs all around us, I believe there must have been a massacre here.”

“Some of this damage looks like it is from magic.”

All of them turned to Allura in surprise. “Magic? The kind of magic that Haggar...and her druids use?”

“I think so.” She leaned forward to take a closer look at the cracks. “We must find whatever Blade is sending the signal. I suppose this will definitely give us some clue about Haggar and the Alteans.”

All of a sudden, his wolf sniffed in the direction of a small hill and started to snarl. “What is it?”

The wolf bounded to the top of the hill and tackled someone down. They gathered around him to find what looked like a native of the planet held under his paws. The person was dressed in dirty clothes and had small horns in place of a moustache.

“Good job.” Keith held his sword to the person’s face. “Who are you? Who is broadcasting this signal?”

The fugitive threw up his hands. “It was me.”

“Impossible! You are no Blade of Marmora.”

The guy whimpered, “I will explain all if you will put down your weapons.”

Krolia nodded slightly and threw him an understanding glance. “Let’s see what he has to say.”

“Ugh, filthy!” was the first thought that came to Keith’s mind when the local invited them to his makeshift shelter. The place was complete with buzzing insects, smelly liquid dripping in a corner and ankle deep dung spread on the floor.

The guy introduced himself as Macidus. As he went on and on about how happy he was to have Voltron as guests to his humble home, Krolia moved to a section of the room which had been covered by a rough cloth. Keith was not interested in his conversation. He only wanted to know how he had gotten his hand upon the secret Blade of Marmora signal.

He happened to look at Acxa standing in one corner of the room with a perplexed expression on her face. “What's it, Acxa?”

She walked over to his side and whispered, “I feel like I know him somehow.”

“You know this guy?”

She shook her head doubtfully. “No, more like I have heard this voice before. But how? Huh?!”

Krolia had rushed out of the partition, training her gun at the native. “What are you doing with these?”

Behind her, a huge collection of swords were stuck in the wall. Keith was shocked. _Do they belong to Marmoran agents? Why are they here? What happened to their owners?_

Macidus was not unnerved. “I hung them in the honor of their sacrifice. They died, trying to protect the Universe.”

Krolia frowned, not quite convinced by the guy’s explanation. “How did it happen?”

“This happened when Voltron disappeared, when you disappeared. In the power vacuum that ensued, Galra turned on each other. Pirates and warlords became rulers of the land.”

“What happened to Haggar the witch?” Allura asked. 

“No one knows.” Macidus threw another piece of log into the camp fire. “But her druids continued her work, carrying out her final orders. They set out to destroy every Blade.”

 _Destroy the Blades?_ he wondered. _Why would Haggar ask her druids to do that as a last order?_

“All the Blades were called away from their assignments and sent to this base. Kolivan knew they were being hunted and he wanted to make a final stand against them.”

“That must be the reason why the Blades abandoned that base we found,” Romelle observed.

“Indeed,” agreed Macidus. “When they arrived here, my people helped them fortify the base, but the druids found us sooner than we hoped. They besieged the base with magic.”

 _Why would Kolivan make a final stand against the druids on a planet like this? Knowing him, he would probably plan a more covert attack._ The more he listened to his story, the less it made any sense.

“For each druid they managed to take down, nearly a hundred Blades would fall.” Macidus continued with his story. “In the final battle, I was buried beneath a collapsed structure. When I regained consciousness, the fight was over and...I was the lone survivor. I have been sending this signal that Kolivan gave me ever since, in the hopes of finding any remaining Blades.”

Krolia reverently laid her hand on the swords. “I recognize every one of these Blades. I trained many of them myself. If only I had been there.”

Keith identified a few of the Blades as well, those of his colleagues and friends he had during his stay at the Blade headquarters. His mom plucked out one which he had hoped won’t be there. “Kolivan!”

After he had left Voltron, it was Kolivan who had taken him under his wing and personally trained him. The fact that he was not going to meet his mentor ever again pained him deeply. His mom was clearly even more affected. He placed his hand on her arm. “Mom, their service would not be forgotten.”

Suddenly, a blue light flickered through the length of the blade. “Kolivan?” she gasped. “His blade, it is flickering.”

“Flickering? What does that mean?”

Krolia held out his sword for everyone to see. “A Marmoran life agent’s life force is connected to their blade. I just saw it glow. Kolivan must still be alive.”

“Just barely.”

The ominous voice of Macidus made everyone gasp in shock, but Keith was more like: _Aha! I knew something was fishy!_

The guy rose from his seat and turned his eyeless face toward him. “Your hand looks much better?” _My hand?_ His brain immediately made the connection. _My hand...burnt...druid?_ The only time he had come into direct fight with a druid was the time he had sneaked into the Quintessence preparation center hidden upon the Space Hub, something or the other. But, he became certain that the guy in front of them was the same druid.

He whipped out his Bayard. “You have been using that signal to draw Blades in!”

Macidus didn’t answer. He tilted his head toward Acxa, who was staring wide‐eyed at him. “You?! You are the one who piloted Haggar out of the colony. Where did you take the people?”

“You dare ask me that? After you betrayed our High Priestess Haggar?” The druid growled so menacingly that Keith itched to move in front of her. “She has forsaken us because of your treachery. I am going to enjoy killing you and the so‐called mighty Paladins of Voltron. Following which Haggar will allow me to return!”

And then, a lot of things happened at once. Macidus vanished, leaving some sort of a device behind that fell upon the ground and broke open to emit a purple light. And, his dear wolf sensed the danger and teleported him out of the growing bubble of dark magic, just in the nick of time.

His wolf deserved all the pats Keith had to offer. The two of them were crouching in what seemed like a junction for four or more tunnels. _What is this place?_ “Where are we?”

They noticed a flash of light in one of the tunnels. _We need to get out of here._ They rushed into the next one, but Macidus appeared there, his sword inches away from his face. His battle instincts taking over, Keith slashed across his face. As he had imagined, the druid’s fake mask fell off, revealing his actual horrifying face. Macidus cackled and disappeared again. He looked around him and followed his wolf into another one of the tunnels. _We need to lose his advantage of disappearing and hiding and lure him into a clearing._ His wolf hummed in agreement.

Suddenly, he saw Macidus standing at the end of the tunnel they were in. A second later, he was above them, ready to drive his sword into Keith’s throat when his wolf teleported them into a large open area as they had planned. But what awaited them there, Keith had not foreseen.

 _Kolivan is alive._ _Just barely._ The kind of humiliating abuse the druid had subjected his mentor to, made his blood boil. Kolivan had been suspended by all fours from the ceiling; bloody, sweating and clinging onto the last thread of life. His ragged breathing and unkempt hair made Keith wince in sympathy. _No! How could this happen?_

He stepped forward to untie him. “Kolivan, hold on. I will get you out of here.”

But, Macidus materialized in front of him. “I should have killed you then. But never mind, today, I am going to enjoy making Kolivan watch your end,” he guffawed. Keith just had to share a quick glance with his wolf for him to understand what was to be done. _Let’s match the druid’s teleporting abilities with our own._

As he fought sword to sword against Macidus, Keith realized that he needed a distraction so that he could kill him when he was caught unawares. His wolf gave him that at the cost of himself getting zapped by the druid. As soon as Keith jumped on him with his blade poised for the final blow, Macidus vanished again. He appeared behind the two of them and blasted them unconscious with a column of dark energy.

When he came round, he saw the druid thrashing Allura to the ground with his powers. Apparently, his friends had crashed the ceiling to join him in the fight. But now, they were all lying around injured. _I need to protect them._ Groaning, he slowly stretched to pick up his blade and rose to his feet.

“There is no escape but death!” Laughing wickedly, Macidus disappeared for the hundredth time.

This time, however, Keith was ready for him. He closed his eyes and concentrated to see the druid’s caricature carved in quintessence. He opened his eyes, took a deep breath and flung his blade at the position where he expected him to be. _Bull’s eye._ Macidus let out a bloodcurdling scream as his body instantly disintegrated into a thousand shards of light. Keith let out a sigh of relief. His blade fell to the ground, the only evidence that Macidus the druid ever existed.

“He is in pretty bad shape.” Pidge checked in her arm computer. “But it seems like he’s gonna be okay.”

Everyone had gathered around Kolivan who sat down tiredly on the floor. He was still very weak but Keith was glad he was at least alive. “I am sorry that my code lured you here.”

He assured him that it was not his fault. He had a hundred questions to ask him, starting with how long he had been tied up there, but he stopped himself. _Now is not the time._

Krolia knelt down beside Kolivan. “Judging from the number of blades Macidus has collected, he may have dealt a critical blow to the Blade of Marmora, but he didn’t defeat us completely.”

“I must find the others.” His breathing was still ragged, which was worrying. “The Universe needs us now more than ever.”

“Ilun, Vrek and Syra had been searching for you and the rest of the Blades. They are situated at the Headquarters right now.”

Kolivan nodded weakly. His mom took a deep breath before continuing, “And I will also join you. We all can work together to revive the Blade of Marmora.” Keith couldn’t believe what he was hearing. _She is abandoning me again?_

“The druid had a cruiser stored not far from here. We can use that to get to the Main Base and to reunite the others.”

She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Indeed. Rest, now.”

Keith wanted to yell at his mom for putting the mission above him again, but one look at her face melted all his anguish. It was pure pain written on her face; she was as distressed as him for having to leave him once again.

“Keith, I—” Her voice broke a bit. “I am sorry to have to say goodbye to you for a second time.”

He wondered if he was selfish for wanting to hold her close to him and not let her go again. _I just don’t want to lose her too. I have already lost so much in my life that...that, I am scared. But, the mission_ — _that is more important than my emotions._ “Mom, this is not goodbye. Take this.” He gripped his blade. “You can always return it to me when we see each other again.”

She took the blade from his hand and opened her arms for a rare hug and a proud smile. _My mom is so angelic when she smiles!_ “I love you, Keith.”

He wrapped himself around her, her small baby boy that he was in her arms. “I love you too, Mom. Thank you for everything you taught me.”

Just when he thought that he had finished saying goodbyes, Acxa spoke up. “Krolia, I wish to join you and Kolivan as well. I believe I would be much more useful working with the Blades than on Earth where Voltron is headed to.” Keith was stunned. _You are leaving as well!?_

However, Krolia agreed without any issue and waved away the others gathered around them. “Paladins, how about all of you go out to...uh, check your Lions? Keith will join you in a dobosh.”

Hunk scratched his head. “Why? Keith doesn’t need to check his Lion?”

Lance put an arm around his neck and pulled him away. “Come on, big dude. We’ll check his Lion for him.”

“Why are we checking the Lions anyway? They were all in good condition when we flew in here.”

Krolia watched the retreating figures of the Paladins and then, turned to Acxa. “I will be inside. When you are ready, join us.”

Keith knew this moment was to come one day. Acxa had told him the first night on the other planet that she had no wish to travel with them till Earth. It was he who had given her the idea to get down on any active Blade base. He hadn’t expected that he would be this hurt when she actually did what she said.

“Keith, you know this would be the right thing for me to do.”

“Yeah, it’s just...I don’t know. I think—I think I gonna miss you on the Black Lion.” She seemed surprised by what he said. _Heck, even I can’t believe I actually said that out loud._

He extended his hand for a warrior’s handshake. She glanced at his hand but ignored it and stepped forward to hug him.

Keith felt his breath stop. This was nothing like the time when Allura gave him an apology hug before he had left to sneak onto Zarkon’s ship. His heart was throbbing so fast that he was pretty sure Acxa could hear it out of his spacesuit. As quickly as she had hugged him, she moved away. _Why are my hands uselessly hanging by the sides when I could have hugged her back?_ “Don’t die, Paladin. I want to meet you again after the whole war is over.”

“Of course, the same goes for you too.” _P_ _romise me that you'll be safe?_ A huge lump had started to form in his throat. “And, I know you don’t want to visit Earth. However, if you do, will you come meet me?”

She nodded and gave him a small smile. “You should probably get going. Your friends would be waiting for you.”

As he walked out, his helmet under his arm, he wondered if this was the last day he would be seeing his mom and Acxa.


	12. The Journey Within

Keith was going space mad even before the energy pulse struck. He snuggled against his wolf in their room and relived all the days he had spent with his mom. _Mom was sitting in that corner when I slept with my head in her lap. The stories she told from her time with the Blade of Marmora._ And Acxa, too. _The sparring duels Acxa and I had. How we talked after Mom left for her daily stroll. The many times I embarrassed myself in front of her._

He smiled slowly and ruffled his wolf’s fur. _I wish they were here._ “Do you miss them, buddy?”

The wolf whimpered which he took to be a yes. “What about your name? Do you like the name the Paladins gave you?” 

A huge wet snout tangled in his hair. _Kosmo? I guess it’s fine. You can call me that if you wish._

“Okay, Kosmo? Ah, it feels weird calling you by name after all this time.” His wolf sniffed at his hair. “Why? Does my hair smell bad? I haven’t washed it for days now.”

Kosmo whined softly. “Oh yeah, I owe you a full bath too. Once we reach Earth, this is gonna be the first item on my top priority checklist. Deal?”

 _Deal!_ His wolf happily curled into a fur ball and dozed off within seconds. “You sleep so fast? I-I...wanted you to listen to me some more.” He suspected Kosmo was only feigning his sleep so that he won’t have to suffer as he rambled on and on, something he had been doing for the past many days. More specifically, from the day the Galra ladies left him all alone on the Black Lion. Kosmo whined again. “Of course, buddy. They didn’t leave me all alone. They left you with me.” 

As usual, his mind dropped back to the one topic he had been mulling over ever since he noticed Acxa closely. _She has two horns? In those future visions, I had clearly seen her with only one. Did the other one fall off? Did she break it?_

Before he could find a satisfactory answer to his question, Keith had curled up on his wolf and started to snore.

“Princess, try the sonic wave.” Keith heard electronic chiming over the comm. as Pidge tried to recalibrate the system to restart the Lions’ power‐core.

“Okay. I will try.” Blue charged up. Before the sonic wave generator could materialize, she turned off with a soft hiss. Allura sighed in defeat. “It is still not working. It probably won’t work again until our power‐cores are recharged.”

“Roger that.” Pidge checked her system. “Well, my long range scanners haven’t detected any planets nearby. No star systems, nothing.”

Hunk’s face popped up on the screen. “Guys, some of our supplies are running short. Won’t be enough to last another...how many years was it again, Pidge?”

“It’s one and a half Earth years, Hunk. Since we have already covered five months worth of space travel, we have thirteen months yet to go.”

Keith felt his head throbbing. _Thirteen months? The first four months passed in a flash. The last month went at the speed of a snake...snake? Snape? Snail? Uh, whatever._ He was too tired to finish his thought. Stifling a yawn, he observed, “That means we need to get down somewhere and refill our supplies. Pidge, can you scan for any habitable planets or Coalition base nearby?”

“Keith? Were you even listening?” She sounded a bit scornful. “I just said there are no planets nearby, no star systems, no... _nothing_ , okay?”

If it had been some other day, his temper might have flared up at her remark. Today, however, he was too tired. “Okay, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. So now, what can be done? Allura, Coran, do you have any other ideas on how to recharge the power‐cores?”

“Man, I really miss Shiro,” Lance broke in. “If he had been with us now, he would have come up with a solution for all our problems.”

“And, boosted our morale as well. You know, like this— _T_ _eam, we need to stay focused. This is gonna be tough but we need to work together._ ” Pidge mimicked his voice perfectly. The two of them giggled at their fond memories of Shiro.

Keith couldn’t help feeling a little hurt at what they said but he consoled himself. _Keith, you know you could never be the leader Shiro was. All you can do is somehow walk in his footsteps and try to help the Universe as best as you can._

Allura thankfully didn’t comment anything about his leadership. “Keith, yes. I think I know of another way to recharge the power cores of the Lions.”

“Oh, really? What’s it, Allura?”

“I-I am not sure how to put it in words, but, do you remember the one time you all were fighting against Zarkon and you got hit by the dark energy beam from Haggar’s Komar? That blast had drained all of your Quintessence.”

“I remember,” Pidge said. “We were all completely incapacitated. So...what about that?”

Hunk hummed thoughtfully. “I think I understand to some extent what Allura is trying to tell us. Guys, remember how Shiro had asked us to focus all our energy and not give up, and then, we got the Lions back up and fighting?”

No one said anything, but Keith got the general idea from their silence: _Keith is the most uninspiring leader ever!_

Allura continued quickly. “Um, so what I was trying to say is that since our battle with Zarkon, we have been only recharging the Lions from the crystal. I suppose the way you repowered Voltron then, by working together as a team, is how it’s actually meant to work.”

“Yes, the Princess is right,” Coran spoke up. “The Paladins of the old never used the Castle’s crystal to recharge the Lions. They were a team of fully realized Paladins...well, at least before Zarkon turned evil.”

“I...I can’t help feeling this must be my fault. You were able to recharge Voltron before, but since I joined—”

Pidge cut in. “Guys! What is that? Dead ahead!”

After Keith’s journey through the Quantum Abyss, he had thought he was prepared for anything. The Universe clearly had a lot of surprises in store, just for him.

Without any warning, their Lions got sucked into endless waves of some kind of intense white energy and thrown apart in opposite directions. “What the quiznack is this?!”

“I don’t know!” Pidge screamed back. “My scanners aren’t picking up anything!”

Keith felt his control over his Lion loosening as the lightning crackled all around him, trying to break through the glass. _If we stay here any longer, we will get roasted along with our Lions._ “Guys, we need to get out of here. NOW!”

Another enormous wave of energy hit him directly that made him to lose his consciousness for a second. When he slowly forced himself to wake up, the gravity and power of Black was gone. _What about the others?!_ “Is everyone alright?”

Pidge murmured softly. “I am here.”

“Still alive,” Lance replied.

Hunk came in next. “That was crazy!”

“I am fine as well,” Allura answered.

But, not everyone was fine. Kosmo had passed out after the blast. _My Paladin armor must have protected me. I couldn’t protect Kosmo._ He rushed to his wolf, now floating in the antigravity field of the Black Lion. _Come on, buddy. Wake up! The energy pulse is gone now._ He didn’t budge.

Romelle and Coran were passed out cold in the same way. “I can’t get a reading on Coran’s vitals,” said Hunk. “I think my sensors are broken or something.”

“What do we do now?”

The silence that followed meant Keith had to answer. But, he simply didn’t know. He took a deep breath. _Everything’s gonna be okay. Patience yields focus._ “Pidge, is there any way you can bring the Lions back online?”

“I can try. But I don’t know if you have noticed...after the blast, our Lions are drifting away at a high velocity in the opposite directions.”

Hunk started to panic. “That means if we don’t do something immediately, we might lose each other in this infinite void. That means we will be floating all alone in space. That means no power...no way to call for help...”

“Hunk, don’t freak out. We are all gonna be together.” Keith tried to calm him as best as he could do. “Okay, the power has to wait. We need to find some way to tether the Lions together so that they don’t drift away. Any ideas?”

Allura answered after a beat. “I think I know how we can do it.”

Keith had to agree with Lance. He had hoped that Allura would be able to magically stick the Lions together with the help of alchemic knowledge she had gained at Oriande. Her solution was zip lines. Which meant they had to step out of their Lions to manually tie the Lions together.

The giant nebulous wave had probably been waiting for this moment. As soon as the Paladins were out, it struck again with its full energy. It was all they could do to try and hang on to the Lions for their lives. Of course, their pitiable human strength was of no match for the wave. Pidge was the first to lose her grip. _We are all going to lose each other in this vast void._ “Guys, we have to...have to—stay together,” Keith panted. “We can’t...Ah!”

Somehow, they managed to catch one another before they got flung light years away by the energy wave. After it had slowly died down, the five of them stabilized themselves into a circle. As Keith had expected, they were facing a bigger problem now. The Lions had gone missing after the blast. _Keith, remain calm and think. The four of them depend on you. You can’t afford to freak out._ “Okay, let’s run through our checklist. Does anyone have any supplies?”

Everyone had been thrown out of the Lions at short notice, so obviously nothing. “Our suits will recycle our moisture to keep us hydrated for a while. We just need to hang tight. We have each other.”

Lance took a deep breath. “Yeah, we just need to hang tight. Something will be along to kill us any minute now. Any minute. Any...minute.”

Fortunately or unfortunately, nothing came to kill them. Allura was advising that too much contemplating infinity was not good for mind, that being lost in space was known to drive someone mad. Keith wanted to say he had maintained his sanity quite well ever since she had cast him out of the Castle, thank you very much.

He had spent his time alone in the unknown space. His so‐called friends hardly cared about what had happened to him. _That is what I have been doing my whole life_ — _pushing myself away from people. The moment I retaliate, they will all start to hate me and reject me._

He remembered what his dad had said when he was a small boy. “Keith, you should always cultivate healthy thoughts. If you let something evil into your mind, it will start to grow out like an uncontrollable weed.” He knew his dad was right. He had lived his entire life the same way his dad did. He had tried to help out everyone who was in need. He had been ready to give up his life if it meant his mission is completed. _What is the point of living for others when they don’t care?_

Keith chewed on his lip. He tried to stop the train of his poisonous thoughts, but they just kept coming. Had he really suppressed all these thoughts in his mind? Probably, the good that he tried to do for others was all just a faux. _Maybe, underneath the façade of a good guy, I am a half-Galra freak that nobody wants around. Maybe, I am a man worse than Lotor. Allura had accepted him so easily, whereas me...?_

He was not sure how much time had passed since they had been floating around there. One by one, the others started to lose hope of any chance of escape. He was the leader. He was supposed to inspire them. However, he had no words to comfort himself, much less the others. _Why am I the leader? Why should I be the leader? Why do I never get a choice in anything?_

All of a sudden, Keith felt a searing source of heat on his left. They had floated right into the core of a star, which had appeared out of nowhere. _How did we not notice this before?!_ Amidst all the shouting and screaming of the rest of his team getting burned alive, he wondered what was the point of fighting anymore. _Why can’t I just give up?_

His mind answered the question simply enough. _You don’t have the right to let the others die just because you want to give up._ He looked down at his team. _Pidge dying because of me doesn’t seem right, does it?_

With the last ounce of his energy, he tried to pull them up. He slashed through the solar flares with his dead Bayard. The gravity of the star was too high. His grip on Hunk’s wrist weakened. Just when he thought they had been vaporized by the star, it disappeared.

He could control himself no longer. “My Bayard won’t work! We don’t know where our Lions are! We are being attacked by things we can’t even see! What are we even supposed to do?!”

Lance looked sincerely concerned for him. “Keith, what are you talking about?” he said slowly. “There is nothing out here. It’s just us.”

Apparently, the sanity he had boasted about to himself was merely a weak thread that snapped as soon as he was faced with a dire situation.

Keith had asked the Paladins to sound off at regular intervals. That was how his mom and he had stayed focused while traveling on the space whale. None of the methods his mom had taught seemed to be useful now that he was standing on the brink of certain death. However, his teammates earnestly followed his sounding off intervals. He didn’t see the point. They were floating around in vast space where time doesn’t flow. 

As usual, Pidge was all about her family. “I wonder how Matt and Dad are doing.”

He had a strong urge to roll his eyes. “Better than us. Hopefully.”

Allura came up with some of her own advice. “My father had something he always said in such situations.”

Keith knew what he was about to say was wrong, but he couldn’t help himself. “Give up?”

“Sorry?”

He sighed. “It just doesn’t seem like he was a real fighter when the chips were down.”

She obviously didn’t like his comment about her dad. He thought she would say something to try and defend her father. When she replied, he was completely shocked. “You!? You have a lot of nerve questioning someone’s leadership seeing how you left us.”

He hadn’t realized how much hatred he had unknowingly built up for Allura for he didn’t even have to think for the words to come to his mouth. “As I recall, you were the one who got us all cozied up to Lotor.”

Lance immediately stood up for Allura. “Keith, you ran away. Maybe, you should have just stayed away.”

 _Of course, they threw me out and bonded well among themselves._ He wanted to shout that he had not run away. He had given up his position as the Leader of Voltron, something Shiro was destined to be. Why did he have to continue to be the leader when Shiro was back?

“Lance, Keith, everyone stop! Look, guys, I know I understand what is happening here. You’re all brave heroes who don’t know how to react to being scared, and it is causing you to attack one another. I’m scared all the time. I can talk you through it.”

Keith scoffed at his sentiments. “Sorry, Hunk. I guess I just don’t know how to be a coward.”

Hunk didn’t seem particularly offended by what he said. “Right. That’s what I am saying—”

“Why don’t you leave him alone, Keith?” Lance interrupted. “Just drift off by yourself, Mr. Lone Wolf.”

Just like the first time, nobody asked him to change his mind and stay. _My team is happy to see me gone._ He hissed in frustration. “Fine!”

Before he could fly away, Hunk grabbed his ankle. “No, don’t. We have to stay together.”

“Why, Hunk? Are we really even friends?” He lashed out at poor Hunk who had done nothing but try to pacify the situation. He thought that it might make him feel better, but it didn't. “Is there anything holding us together besides some...messed up series of coincidences?”

All of them were staring at him, out of pity, horror, or disbelief. He didn’t know. But he didn’t stop. “I mean, what are we? Some chosen saviors? Do you really believe that? What are we even doing out here?! Let me go!”

Hunk held on tight to his ankle. Keith might have kicked him right in the face if not for Pidge. She pointed at something in the distance. “Uh, guys? What is that?”

Keith strained his neck to look at what she was pointing. “Another ‘something’ to kill us?”

“No, it appears like a single source. It looks like a planet.”

Lance fired up his jetpack. “Guys, it is...Earth. That wave must have knocked us all the way across the universe!”

Pidge, Hunk and Allura happily followed him. Keith was still angry with whatever had happened, but seeing nowhere else to go, he went behind them.

The closer he got, the more uneasy he became. There was no way that there would be a single planet in the middle of nowhere, and that would be Earth. “Guys, I don’t think that the planet is Earth. Where is the Sun? Where is the Moon? Where are the other planets of the Solar System?”

Pidge and Lance glared back at him. “You have gone space mad, Keith. We have found the Earth and we are going home now.” “Why? You don't want us to go to Earth?”

Keith let them go. _Go wherever you want! You don’t listen to me, anyways._ Thankfully, Hunk came to his senses. “No, no, something is wrong. I think Keith is right. That is not Earth.” 

He moved in front of them to stop them from moving any further. “Stop! This is too good to be true. Stop. Everybody, stop!”

The Paladins paused for a second, but all of them shoved him to one side. “Hunk, you’re hallucinating. You are going space mad like Keith. Just let us take you home!”

He used his jetpack to fly back to Keith. “Keith, we need to do something. We need to stop them before they get any closer to that thing.”

Keith glared straight ahead. “Why should I? They are all glad to see me gone. They don’t even care about me, Hunk. I am also not...not gonna care about what happens to them.”

He put a hand on his shoulder. “Keith, I know you are hurting. Look, man, I know, okay...? I know that you didn’t run away. You did what you thought was right then. We could never have known that...um, the Shiro was not the real one. After you left us, I, for one, really _did_ miss you. I am pretty sure the others did too. They are scared, Keith. They need you to be their leader. And, we need to keep doing what we have to.”

 _I need to keep doing what I have to?_ Even if the others hated him as their leader, he had to continue to be there for them. The Black Lion had chosen him. He had to protect the Universe. For his mom, Kolivan and the other Blades. For Hunk, Lance, Pidge and their families back on the Earth. For Allura and the Alteans who needed to be rescued. For Acxa who was looking forward to a day when she was no longer ashamed of their race. For himself and for his wolf.

He nodded slowly. “You are right, Hunk. We need to save them. But how? My Bayard is not working.”

Hunk was somehow able to manifest his. He shot at the planet with his cannon. To their shock, the planet morphed into a hideous looking creature with a single large eye having a slit pupil. But, the other Paladins still kept flying into its mouth.

“Oh, no! The creature will devour them up. Keith, I will distract the thing. You move the others to safety.”

“No, Hunk, wait—”

Hunk wasn’t listening. He yelled a battle cry and charged toward the monster, shooting vigorously with his cannon.

Keith grabbed Allura, but she struggled to free herself from his grasp. He tried to calm her down. “Allura, stop! Listen to me. You don’t even know what Earth looks like. How could you be so sure this thing is Earth? Come to your senses, Princess.”

She blinked twice, hopefully recovering from her hallucination. She turned to look at ‘Earth’ and yelped, “What-what’s this?”

“Some space monster for all I know. Allura, you grab hold of Lance and Pidge. I’ll help Hunk.”

A nervous thrill shot through his body as he rushed toward Hunk nearly about to be swallowed by the monster. He was completely unarmed except for the dead Bayard in his hand. Suddenly, he felt the familiar zing of his Bayard. It manifested not into his original sword, but into a black energy cannon.

He smiled triumphantly and joined Hunk in his fight, who mock-saluted him. “Good timing, buddy.”

“Let’s take this thing out!”

They were able to buy some time. The monster ran away after being attacked relentlessly. However, Keith knew it would return. They needed their Lions—the only way they could fight a monster hundred times their size.

Allura had managed to calm down Lance and Pidge. Lance was so homesick that he kept saying that the thing had to be Earth. She was gently patting his back. Pidge lifted her teary eyes to them. “Hunk, Keith, thanks. You saved our lives. We would have become tonight’s dinner for the monster otherwise.”

Hunk glanced fearfully in the direction the monster had gone. “Don’t thank us yet, Pidge. The monster is sure to return.”

“So, what do we do? We can’t defeat a monster of this size by ourselves. Um, Keith, what...should we—?” She ventured a timid look at him as if bracing herself for his admonition.

Keith took a deep breath. “Guys, I am sorry I said those hurtful things earlier. I was wrong. This series of messed up coincidences did happen for a reason. They brought us together as Paladins. More importantly...they brought us together as friends.”

He felt the tension that had built up among them, slowly melting. They gathered around him, ready to follow his lead. “We need our Lions if we are to defeat that monster.”

“But...how do we—our Lions are missing?”

“Yes, but the Lions are bonded to us. If we call out to them for help, they will surely come to us. Remember how Red came to rescue me when I had got blasted out of Zarkon’s ship?”

Allura scowled as if in doubt. “But, that was only for you, Keith. I am not sure the rest of us have that kind of bond.”

“We have to believe, Allura. We need to forge our trust in the Lions. This is the only way we can find them in the infinity of the Universe.”

“Keith is right,” Hunk agreed. “Otherwise, we might have to spend an eternity here with little hope of rescue.”

“We don’t have to wait an eternity, Hunk.” Lance pointed to his right. “The monster is here to kill us.”

“It’s here, already?!”

Keith knew there was no time to waste. “Guys, let’s do this. Focus all your energy. Reach out to your Lions!”

He closed his eyes and concentrated on finding Black. He had always blamed her for choosing him as her new Paladin, when he was so comfortable with Red. In that moment, he realized that it was not the matter of bonding with a single Lion. Voltron was about bonding with all the Lions, all the Paladins, all as one team.

He heard the distant roar of the Lion in his mind as he and Black became each other’s eyes. He opened them and had to grin broadly. _You are here! No...you all are here!_

The Lions seemed as pleased to see their Paladins as they were. The five of them lifted their heads to launch a mighty roar of laser beam that instantly disintegrated the monster.

The five of them huddled together in a group hug. Pidge and Hunk were bawling their eyes out. Lance was weeping, digging his helmet into Allura’s shoulder. She looked up at Keith and held out her other arm for him.

“I am sorry, Keith. I too said some very hurtful words to you. I am happier than I can express in words that you have returned to us safely. Promise me this: Whatever happens, don’t run away from us again.”

He hugged her and gulped down his tears. “I promise.”

Their happiness was short-lived.

The killer nebula must have come to know that they got back their Lions. It returned to throw them out into the void once again. “Guys, we know we can’t outrun this. Get into your Lions. We are going to face this thing head-on.”

Once all the five of them were back into their Lions, Keith shouted the one command he hadn’t used for months now.

“FORM VOLTRON!”

Thankfully, he felt the surge of energy through his Lion that marked the transformation as Voltron. He rose to the height as the head of Voltron. Cautiously, he maneuvered the giant robot to the edge of the nebula.

The nebula sucked them in. The tremendous pressure from the wave was trying to crush them and pull them apart. _We have to fight this. We need more thrust to overcome this pressure. Black, please help us!_

She obliged. The Bayard port rose, blinking. He took a shaky breath, stuck his Bayard in and twisted it. Immediately, the shields on the back of Voltron disappeared to give way to a set of massive engines. _Booster wings? Ha! Now we stand a chance._

The end of the Trials of the Nebulae landed them at the edge of a large galaxy.

As he stopped to catch his breath, Keith heard a soft whimper behind him. He jumped out of his seat to throw himself around a now awake, but much disoriented Kosmo. “You are alive, buddy! I am so glad...!”

Apparently, the trials they had gone through _did_ have something sweet as the result. The galaxy was none other than the Milky Way. A cheer went through the Paladins.

“We are home, guys!”

“Finally!”

He wondered what further perils he would have to face when they reached Earth. But, those were all the thoughts for another day. 

“Well, what are we waiting for?” He smirked and pushed the thrusters forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter marks the end of 'The Road To Home'. A special thanks to some of my readers who took some time to comment on every chapter (ShiranaiAtsune, Guyvantic_Guyver, poorrichardslegacy). Also, thanks to all the others who hopefully enjoyed the chapters enough to leave a kudos or a comment on one chapter that intrigued them more than the others. For new readers who might find this story at a later date, please don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Moving on, this is only the first part of the series "All Roads Lead to...Oriande". I have no solid chart but the story definitely requires two or more parts with multiple chapters. Till now, we had some development only on Keith x Acxa, but in the following parts, we will see more on Allura x Lance, Keith and Allura (friendship?) as well as some other minor relationships. And of course, there is so much more to develop on the other characters too like Krolia, Kolivan, Zethrid x Ezor, Lotor, Haggar and the Alteans to name a few. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed reading so far and would continue to enjoy! Happy reading! :)
> 
> Update: The next part 'The Last Stand' is up and posted as part 2 of the series "All Roads Lead to...Oriande"!


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